Have you ever wondered what Ray does when he isn’t videoing? Ray has decided to open his diary and share it with you each day. You will learn all about Ray – warts and all! You’ll hear a lot about the human light of his life – Georgia. And through the days, weeks, months, years, that Ray has left before God calls him home, you’ll hear Ray’s heart – not with a stethoscope, but with your heart you’ll hear the inner workings the Holy Spirit in him that causes him to truly love Christ and you. Look freely over his shoulder right now as he verbally writes the first entry in his diary that he will share with you every day.
Buck felt his age and was embarrassed to disembark in Kozani, Greece, with a severe case of jet like that didn’t seem to bother the older Albie. And Albie, of course, had done all the flying.
“Use it to your advantage,” Albie said.
“How so?”
“It should make you cranky.”
“I’m pretty even.”
“Well, quit that. You’re just being polite. Your natural instinct, when you’d rather be in bed, is to be testy, short, irritable. Go with it. GC Peacekeepers are macho, in charge. They have an attitude.”
“So I’ve noticed.”
“Don’t ask. Don’t apologize. You’re a busy man, on assignment, with things to do.”
“Got it.”
“Do you?”
“I think so.”
“That didn’t sound so macho.”
“I’ve got to be that way with you too?”
“At least practice, Buck. You Americans, I swear, I had to shame your father-in-law into being the leader he was born to be. You’re an international journalist and you can’t play-act to get things done?”
“I think I can.”
“Well, show me. How did you get the big stories, get access to the best interview subjects?”
“I used the power of my position.”
“Exactly.”
“But I was working for the Global Weekly.”
“More than that. You were Buck Williams, the Buck Williams of Global Weekly.” It may have been your talent and your writing that made you the Buck Williams, but once you were him, you walked with confidence, didn’t you?”
“I guess.”
“I guess,” Albie mocked. “Come on, Buck! You strutted!”
WILDFIRE! Chapters 4 through 7 (Left Behind the Kids)
Mark watched the GC car speed up. It was newer, faster, and would overtake them quickly.
“Floor it!” Mark said.
“I am,” Conrad said, watching the speedometer slowly climb.
“They’re gaining on us!” Shelley yelled.
“Is there anything in the back we can throw out to slow them down?” Mark hollered.
Shelly and Janie climbed over the backseat. “There’s a spare tire and a tire iron,” Shelley yelled back.
“I found a bunch of nails and screws in a little box,” Janie shouted.
Mark turned to Conrad. “Go as fast as you can. We’ll slow them up a little.”
Conrad nodded and kept his eyes on the road as Mark climbed over the seats. He grabbed the tire iron, smashed the back window, and muttered, “Sorry, Bo.”
**********
Vicki tried to get comfortable in the trunk. Darrion held the crowbar in place so they would continue to get air.
“Where do you think they’re going?” Darrion whispered.
“Probably back to Des Plaines where they’re holding the Shairtons and Charlie.”
A frantic voice came on the radio, calling the leader. Vicki’s heart sank as she heard a young officer say, “We’ve got those kids, Sir. They’re in that old car we spotted in the bushes. They’re about a quarter of a mile ahead of us.”
“How many?”
“Can’t tell, sir. They passed us going pretty fast. Probably at least four or five.”
“Where are they headed?”
“Toward Lake Geneva, sir.”
“Good,” the leader said. “The roads are torn up that way. You should be able to catch them.”
WILDFIRE! Chapters 4 through 7 (Left Behind the Kids)
WILDFIRE! Chapters 1 through 3 (Left Behind-The Kids)
Judd wiped sweat from his forehead, aware that he was watching the beginning of the end of the world. For the past 3 and half years he had studied biblical predictions about the Antichrist and the false prophet. There was no doubt in his mind that Nicolae Carpathia and Leon Fortunato, Carpathia’s right-hand man, were the evil men described in Revelation 14 through 20.
The sun baked the crowd, still scurrying to greet the potentate. GC personnel in roving carts warned people that the courtyard was filled. “If you want to stay and watch the risen potentate Greek others, feel free to do so. Otherwise, please exit the area. Thank you.”
The gigantic screens showed Carpathia smiling, energetic, and full of life. Minutes earlier the crowd had wept over the man entombed in his glass coffin. Now, as the Bible had predicted, Carpathia stood in the midafternoon New Babylon sun and beamed. Like moths to a flame, the crowd worshiped their risen hero.
Judd felt drawn too, but for another reason. Carpathia’s final words shocked him. The once-dead potentate had urged his enemies to join the Global Community. Then with menacing eyes the man spoke directly to believers in Christ and warned them not to attack him or the harmony he had worked to create. The look on Carpathia’s face reminded Judd of the look on his face at the execution of the two profits, Moishe and Eli. No doubt, Carpathia had the same in mind for other followers of Christ, but how would he try to kill them?
As Judd passed through the crowd, he overheard several people talking about Carpathia. “This is the greatest political comeback in history,” a man said.
“There’s nothing political about it,” another said. “This is a religious experience! He’s god!”
WILDFIRE! Chapters 1 through 3 (Left Behind-The Kids)
Rayford couldn’t sleep. Pacing various floors in the cavernous Strong Building, he happened by Chaim’s room. The door was wide open, and in the darkness he recognized the old man’s silhouette. Chaim sat motionless on the bed, though Rayford knew he had to see and hear him in the corridor. Rayford poked his head in.
“You all right, Dr. Rosenweig?”
A loud sigh through the wire–bound clenched teeth. “I don’t know, my friend.”
“Want to talk?”
A low chuckle. “You know my culture. Talk is what we do. If you have time, come in. I welcome you.”
Rayford pulled up a chair and sat facing Chaim in the darkness. The botanist seemed in no hurry. Finally, he said, “The young woman takes my wire out tomorrow.”
“Leah, yes. You can’t tell me you’re worried about that.”
“I can hardly contain myself waiting.”
“But something else is on your mind.”
Chaim fell silent again, but soon he began panting, then leaned into his pillow where he was wracked with great sobs. Rayford pulled his chair closer and laid a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Talk to me.”
“I have lost so much!” Chaim wailed, and Rayford strained to understand him. “My family! My staff! And it is all my fault!”
“Little is our fault anymore, sir. Carpathia is in charge of everything now.”
“But I was so proud! So skeptical! Tsion and Cameron and Chloe and you and everyone who cared about me warned me, trying to persuade me. But oh, no, I was too intellectual. I knew better.”
“But you came to the Lord, Chaim. We must not live in the past when all things have become new.”
The Bible on Divorce and Remarriage by Ray Mossholder
THE Bible and Divorceby Ray Mossholder
I urge you to have your Bible open for this study and write down all verses listed, Old Testament and New.
Nothing written here is to be interpreted as a treatise blanketly endorsing divorce. Divorce is like ashoot-out between Siamese twins.
A Christian husband or wife who has at some point in their relationship honestly loved the spousethey have now divorced or are divorcing, will almost certainly carry an aching regret inside and a voidthat was once filled by that person.
Feelings of failure, feelings of guilt, feelings of wishing afterwardthat things could have been different, feelings of disobeying God or God failing them, plus theinevitable reaction of others, including family and close friends, many of whom are shocked, hurt, andtotally disapproving of the divorce, are constant obstacles those divorcing or are divorced most be ready to face
Christians often condemn anyone who is divorcing because they err. not knowing the Scriptures (Mt.
22:29). Christians who are condemners lack empathy and often believe there should be none given toany Christian who divorces. These condemners look at divorce as total disloyalty to God. No thought isgiven credence when a divorcing spouse attempts to explain what was going on that brought abouttheir divorce.
Only the couple and God can possibly know all the factors involved in bringing about thefinal decision to divorce but nothing either of them says can possibly make any difference at all to thecondemner.
In the beginning, God meant for every first marriage to last alifetime (Mt. 19:8). However, sin then entered the world.Yet this same God’s mercy endures forever.
He who freely granted divorce in the Old Testament “Because of the hardness of men’s hearts” (Mt.19:8) is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
Certainly Jesus Christ who knows eachperson by their spirit, soul and body, “understands their weaknesses and sympathizes with them”(Heb. 4:15-16).
The Old Testament approach to divorce, once understood, is shocking to the average Christian today.But to realize it continued throughout the time that Christ ministered on Earth and many many yearsafter that, is even more shocking. Jesus had come to fulfill the Law and until He gasped “It is finished”as He expired on the cross (John 19:30), the Law remained in full affect.
Grace replaced the Law whenthe Holy Spirit came (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-4), though the Law still had a great hold on theearly Church especially among the Messianic Jews. Tradition is always something extremely difficultfor any human to change.
All a man had to do to rid himself of his wife during the days of living under the Law was to write a billof divorcement (Dt. 24:1), a short note that could list any reason at all for the husband no longerwanting to remain married to his present wife. He could write anything: “You are too loud.” “Youdon’t cook my favorite things.” “You argue with me.” “I don’t like your mother,” then directly face hiswife and tell her, “I divorce you! I divorce you! I divorce you!”
Once a husband handed that note to his wife and told her three times, “I divorce you,” his wife had toimmediately leave their house and their marriage, and that husband and wife were considered byeveryone, including God, to be divorced (Dt. 24:2-4). A wife was left penniless, with no ability to takeanything with her at all. Her children, her dog, her clothes, etc., could not go with her. Forget in yourmind any court proceedings and any attempt at fairness from the divorce courts of today. There wasno such thing. Nothing was hers, all was his. The Old Testament said so and at least on that one point,the Roman government and the Jewish Sanhedrin agreed.
While Jesus was on Earth. the Pharisees asked a question you may well be asking too: “Why then didMoses ever grant divorce through using a bill of divorcement?” Jesus answered, “Because of yourhardness of heart.” (Mt. 19:7-8). God knew, in granting this barbaric practice, that many husbandswould kill their wives if there was no other way out of their marriage. A bill of divorcement was sadlythe lesser of two evils.
The “life sentence” of not being able to divorce was given only to men who falsely accused their wivesof sleeping with another man (Dt. 22:13-19), or men who raped single virgins (Dt. 22:28-29). From thattime until one of their deaths, the wife under those circumstances could completely withhold sex anddaily spit in his food, and he could do nothing at all about it.
Men being sentenced to never divorcing was God’s way of taking care of both the violated wife and
the violated wife’s father. Once a single girl or woman had had sexual intercourse, whether by rape ornot, she was considered “used” by all Jews and thought of as no longer desirable as a friend or lifepartner unless they got married.
Male Jews woke every morning thanking God they weren’t a woman. A wife in their mind wassomeone who took total care of the house, a husband’s needs, including physical; and the children’sneeds. They were only a tiny step higher than a domestic slave.
A single female found it almostimpossible to get any other kind of job except domestic. Jewish women who did live alone unmarriedwere rare and generally looked down upon. They were usually thought of as one who must be aprostitute. The question would rise about her, “How else could she afford a home by herself?”
Females had absolutely no training in anything but household duties. They were believed by men tobe spiritually inept and unqualified by their gender to study the Torah. So, if a man was found to haveraped a female, he had to marry her and bring her into his home.
I said God watched out for a raped female’s father. God fashioned His Law so that her father should
receive and never have to give back the dowry he had been given by a liar or a rapist. Usually a largesum of money was involved in all dowrys. (See “Fiddler On The Roof.”)
God did not forbid remarriage as proven by Dt. 24:1-4. The Law stated that a woman who was given abill of divorcement by her husband could marry, but if she then divorced her second husband or hedied, she could not return and re-marry the first husband because she’d obviously had sex with hersecond husband. (The word “defiled” is continually used in the Old Testament to describe either awoman going throughher menstrual period or her sexual involvement with someone other than her husband.)
In Isaiah 50:1 God tells Israel why she is in captivity. It was their sins that were their undoing. It wasnot, God says, that He divorced Israel and sent her away.
But by the time of Jeremiah, GOD DID DIVORCE FAITHLESS ISRAEL. In Jeremiah 3:8, Jeremiah says thatsince Israel worshiped other gods as if to make love with them, God “divorced faithless Israel.”
Thetimeline is important here. Isaiah lived 740-680 B.C. Jeremiah lived 627-585 B.C. So in between thetime of Isaiah and the time of Jeremiah, God divorced. Think of that. GOD GOT A DIVORCE!
The thrill of being “the Bride of Christ” is immense for every Christian. Yet, if God had not divorcedfaithless Israel He would have been a bigamist for marrying any Gentile rather than the Groom to His new Bride. In every senseof the word THE CHURCH IS THE SECOND MARRIAGE PARTNER OF GOD!
The final mention of divorce in the Old Testament is too often misunderstood. It is found in Mal. 2:10-16. The issue is men who abandon the wives of their youth for pagan women who do not worship the One true God. God is speaking to the very same issue as He spoke when addressing the Jews in Jeremiah 3:8and Nehemiah 13:23-27. Pagan women brought pagan gods into their husband’s homes (Mal. 2:11).Even wise Solomon became debauched in his old age and turned away from God because of his paganwives (1 Kings 11:1-13).
Three things stand out in Malachi 2:10-16:
First, GOD HATES DIVORCE. There is no honest Christian who doesn’t hate it. The seriousness ofdivorce and it’s direct consequences can’t be overstated. Divorce divides families in a way that only death can equal.
Many a family member or friend has lost their
faith in Christ in seeing the one they viewed as their Christian role model caught up in a divorce.Anyone contemplating divorce must face the strong possibilities of such fallout. Yet too few contemplating divorce expect it, or know any way to prepare for it.
Once divorce begins, awful surprises often overwhelm both separated partners. As one godlycounselor told me, “You are now going to know who your real friends are and who they aren’t! Andthat discovery will surprise and disappoint you.” That revelation in itself can be devastating. It was forme.
Second, though God hates divorce, GOD DOES NOT HATE DIVORCEES. Nor does divorce make the divorced person “a fifth class Christian.”
Perhaps the hardest thing that a hurt and angry spouse needs torealize if they think of themself as the victimof divorce, is that God isn’t angry with the Christian whocaused the divorce! Christians live forever forgiven by God because of what Christ did on the cross(John 3:16; Acts 3:19; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; Gal. 2:20-21; Heb 8:12; 1 John 2:1.) The Alpha and Omegaknows from the beginning when any couple will end their marriage in divorce, and He knows it from the beginning.
Bitterness, feelings of guilt and/or self-hatred can plague the divorced person. Yet Christ died to ridevery Christian from just such feelings. Christ never tells any Christian to focus on self but on Him, theRedeemer.
As long as a Christian mentally nails themself to their own cross, Christ who died on thecross for them is unable to set them free from what they’re doing to themself: Mt. 6:14-15; 18:30, 32-35; Mark 11:25-26, etc.)
Third, divorce is NOT the unforgiveable sin. The unforgivable sin only occurs when a person goes alltheir life and dies without receiving Christ as their Savior (Mt. 12:31-32; Mark 3:22-30.)
The point of these passages in Matthew and Mark is that Jesus with His love and miracles wasobviously God come to Earth and the Pharisees who rejected Him were rejecting God.
Finally, though procreation is certainly not the only reason God has for marriage, He emphasizes howimportant it is to “raise godly offspring.” Carried into New Testament times He is saying that marriageis only to be between a Christian husband and a Christian wife.
To those with the capability of havingchildren their charge from God is to raise children who both love God and joyfully serve Him (1 Cor.7:14.)
THE NEW TESTAMENT AND DIVORCE
In His first mention of divorce in the New Testament, Jesus makes it clear that He is speaking aboutthis practice of husbands writing “a bill of divorcement” and throwing wives out of their homes. Hecondemns the practice unless the wife has been sexually unfaithful before the marriage (Mt. 1:19),during the marriage, or found to be near of kin (Lev. 18; Acts 15:29).
It should be understood that when Jesus says throwing a wife out“makes her commitadultery,” and “whoever marries her commits adultery,” (Mt. 5:32) He is in the midst of giving theSermon on the Mount and speaking in hyperbole (hyperbole was common in those days), speaking as one might dowith children when one wants to shock them into not doing something. He is not being literal.
Proofenough of this fact is that immediately before this statement He has said one should gouge out theireye or cut off their right hand if it causes them to sin (Mt. 5:30). How many sightless, one handedChristians would be on this planet today if such a verse was to be taken literally?!
A quick reading of Mt. 19:3-12 seems to find Jesus condemning divorce entirely unless adultery hasbeen involved. But we must never do a “quick reading” of any Scripture and believe that we knowwhat it says. There are points to ponder here that give, as usual, a remarkable answer from Jesus tothe Pharisees:
First, the Pharisees always came to Jesus for the purpose of trapping Him in a statement that wouldeither prove He was not the Christ (an impossible task!), or divide the Jewish people against Him.
Inthis passage they come knowing full well that there were two Jewish schools diametrically opposed toeach other on the subject of divorce. There was the rabbinical school of Shammai that taught a mancould not divorce his wife unless she was caught in adultery. And there was the rabbinical school ofHillel that taught a man could divorce his wife for any reason, including burning the toast. ThePharisees believed whichever way Jesus answered He would divide many Jews away from Himself byanswering.
Second, what Jesus answered has NOTHING to do with divorce as we know it today.
Not to beredundant, but divorce during the earthly days of Jesus’ ministry still meant what it meant throughoutthe Old Testament – a wife receiving a bill of divorcement was forced to leave her marriage foreverwith no money, no children, no clothing except for what she wore when leaving – nothing at all thatshe had gained while married. Everything of value, with no exception, remained totally and legallywith the husband. Division of property, child’s rights, etc. were given absolutely no considerationwhatsoever. The wife became a penniless street person because her husband simply didn’t want heranymore.
Jesus immediately, as always, disappointed the Pharisees with His answer. Rather than begin anargument with them. He answered from Scripture. He quotes Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:23-24, remindingeveryone that the purpose of God in creation was that a husband and wife were to be “oneflesh” with the greatest possible fellowship with each other that would joyfully lead to regular timesof intercourse (1 Cor. 7:3-5.)
In other words, marriage was meant to be the deepest relationshippossible among humans – spirit, soul and body(Eph. 5:21-33). No other human ever had any right whatsoever tobring division between the married couple.
I’ve already mentioned what the Pharisees did next. They asked, “Why then did Moses ever grant
divorce through using a bill of divorcement?” Jesus answered, “Because of your hardness ofheart.” (Mt. 19:7-8). That bill was better than murder!
Jesus then nails the man who writes a bill of divorcement because he wants to marry another woman.Such a man, Jesus says, is guilty of adultery (Mt. 19:9).
It was Christ’s own disciples who were shockedwith this statement. They exclaim, “If the relationship with the man with his wife is like this, it isbetter not to marry!” (Mt. 19:10) His answer to them all is “Not all men can accept this statement, butonly those to whom it has been given.” Jesus gave this teaching to His godly followers of that day. Toanyone else, it wouldn’t matter what Jesus said because THEY KNEW what God’s Law said. No suchhideous divorce procedures remain in any true form of Christianity today.
Importantly Mark 10:2-12 records the same occurrence as written in Mt 19:3-12. However it gives usan answer only given to Christ’s disciples, not to the Pharisees.
After the Pharisees left, Jesus toldthem, “Whoever (writes a bill of divorcement) against his wife commits adultery, and whoever (walks
out on her husband) and marries another man commits adultery.” (Mark 10:11-12)
This is an evenharsher teaching than the one found in Matthew 19. It makes a husband or wife starting a romanticrelationship with someone other than a married persons spouse while they are still married,something God says only heathens do.
It is certainly no accident that the very next subject following this statement is children because it isoften children who suffer the most in any divorce. They lose the visual and emotional pattern God setfor marriage and instead see marriage trashed before their very eyes.
As soon as separation between their parents begins, a child or teenager loses precious time with theirown dad or mom in their formative years or even in their adult years, and far too often they lose theirmom or dad altogether.
In America, one third of fathers abandon their children and never see themagain following divorce.
Meanwhile, children are often forced to try to accept a substitute for a dad or mom that almost neverseems to measure up to their own.
And if the child or teenager is able to see both parents, they do itby being treated like human ping-pong balls, bouncing back and forth from one parent’s home to theother’s.
Often their new “parent” is hostile with anger because they didn’t want the child(ren) or teenager(s)at all. They only wanted the mother or father of these kids. Competition is too often automaticbetween the son or daughter and the substitute boyfriend/ girlfriend/spouse, both wanting qualitytime with the one they believe should give them first place if they really loved them. Thus no one getsall the access they desire or need.
A husband or wife caught in the middle of this kind of emotional tug-o-war, runs the gamut of feelingsthat include terrible guilt, anger, frustration, and a host of other negative feelings. Competitionbetween siblings and a rival “parent figure” causes them to be constantly in the way of each other.
None of this is what God at all designed for marriage or for family.
So, what of the terribly unhappy marriage that goes on and on and on in the name of Christianity?
Does constant fighting between parents, whether verbal or physical, please God, or create a healthy
environment for children or teenagers? When 1 Cor. 2:3-5; Ephesians 5:21-33; I Tim. 3:4-5; 5:8; Titus 2:2-8, I Peter 3:1-7 and other God-directions for a husband and wife are constantly violated by eitherthe husband or wife, or both, is it God’s command for such marriages to continue?
When a husband is continually angry against his wife or vice versa and one or both of them allowstheir bitterness to further lash out verbally/and or physically against their offspring, does God offer noprotection or way of escape for him or her and their abused siblings? (1 Corinthians 10:13)
When a husband or wife lives strictly for themself and refuses to acknowledge the importance andreal needs of their spouse, living the exact opposite of Ephesians 5:24–25, is the neglected spouse tosimply suffer year after year through the bondage of a miserably unhappy marriage? What then happens to “life more abundantly” (John 10:10) that Jesus came to bring every Christian? Is a trapped spousemeant by God to simply grin and bear it?
When a husband or wife never tries to understand their spouses view of things, physical needs, orhonor them as their life partner (I Peter 3:1-7) and instead mocks any weakness they see in them, isthe maligned spouse to remain happily ever after?
When either spouse is regularly critical of and verbally demeaning to their husband or wife,
embarrassing them in front of family, friends and/or strangers, and this goes on and on, are they tolive in the bondage of (as Henry David Thoreau described it) “a life of quiet desperation?” Is divorceany option at all?
When either a husband or wife commits adultery, is the spouse to simply smile and accept it in thename of “Christian” love? Even though forgiveness from the violated mate is necessary for their ownpeace of mind, only those with hard hearts would say yes.
Today God tells us “Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is noauthority except from God and those who exist are established by God” (Rom. 13:1).
The laws,especially most of America and much of the western world, have attempted to remove as far as possibleany barbarianism in divorce.
No longer is a divorced wife expected to leave her house and hermarriage to wander aimlessly without care or finance. Even the Law did allow remarriage as a possibilityfor a misused husband or wife.
Obviously, we live in an imperfect world and even the best intentioned human judges can still find
themselves unable to help a husband or wife whose former spouse is in themself barbaric. But even inthe worse situations we are worlds apart from the hideous bill of divorcement.
How far apart are we from it? We are as far apart as the distance in time before the cross and afterthe cross:
Before the cross: “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the samesacrifices, which can never take away sins.” (Hebrews 11:11)
After the cross: Jesus says, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first” (the Law)
“in order to establish the second” (grace, which, in the original Greek, means “absolutely undeserved favor orkindness.”) “by this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ onceand for all (Hebrews 10:10)….For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified (Hebrews 10:14).
And the HolySpirit also testifies to us; for after saying, ‘THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE THEM AFTERTHOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD, I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILLWRITE THEM,’ He then says, ‘AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NOMORE."” (Heb. 10:9-10, 14-17.)
From Donald Trump to Google to church weddings, you’ll love, laugh, and learn, as Larry and Ray spend quality time with you talking about things that will surprise you. And to top it off, you get a chance name our is a there ape!
Most of the Tribulation Force have moved into the new safe house in a huge building in downtown Chicago. Chicago has been completely abandoned because of the fear of radiation from the bombings that hit it months ago. But no one but the Force know that there isn’t any radiation there.
In New Babylon, David Hassid has viewed his Christian sweetheart Annie’s dead body. She was struck by lightning while standing watch at Carpathia’s (the Antichrist) funeral. Carpathia then rose from his coffin, but is now fully indwelt by Satan and has presented himself as the Messiah. Many millions now believe him and worship him as the one true god.
Buck has rescued Zeke Junior, but Zeke’s dad has been arrested and taken away by the Global Police.
Rayford is with Albie in Greece where they have led Hattie to Christ. The three now plan to fly home to join the others in the safe house in Chicago.
Ray picks the story up at this point.
Buck awoke at dawn and made the rounds, checking on everyone. He smiled at Zeke’s domain and was grateful it was private. Zeke had worked until after midnight arranging his Buck peeked in, he found Zeke on the floor next to his bed. Each to his own.
Leah’s door was shut and locked. She had been up late on a call from Ming Toy, who had returned to Buffer frantic about her parents’ staying in New Babylon until her brother could find a position with the GC.
Chloe had been on her computer until after Kenny was in bed, coordinating the international co-op. She urged the tens of thousands of members to watch for Tsion’s next missive, wherein he planned to discuss the importance of their readiness when the buying/selling edict would go into effect. He would also be asking volunteer pilots and drivers to bring small planes and and working.
Chaim was hunched over a stack of books, several of them open, assigned by Tsion. He looked up with twinkling eyes when Buck poked his head in. Buck seemed to understand his constricted speech better than the others. “Miss Rose, the redhead,”
Chaim said. “Leah.” “Yes, she is a trained nurse, you know.” Buck nodded. “She tells me she can remove the wires when I am ready. Well, I am more than ready. A man my age cannot lose this much weight this fast. And I want to be able to speak clearly!” “How is everything else?” “On my body, you mean? I gift from God! What a luxury! If we have to live in exile, this is where to live. And what young Tsion has given me to read, well . . . I call him young because he was once my student, but you knew that. There are times, Cameron, when the Scriptures are like an ugly mirror to me, showing me again and again my bankrupt soul.
Worldwide Christian News – Tuesday, October 27, 2015
(Guatemala City)—[CBN News] Guatemalan voters have chosen a comedian with studies in theology as their new president. Jimmy Morales was initially considered an outsider but surprised the nation by leading the first round of elections, easily qualifying for the runoff.
Morales ran on a platform of conservative values, opposing gay marriage, opposing abortion, and opposing the legalization of marijuana.
“According to my belief, my ideology, I would have to veto such laws,” the president-elect told CBN News. “I think in Guatemala we will not have this because of conservative thinking. In case Congress approves such laws, my position would be against them.”
Morales presented himself as a champion against corruption, with the slogan “neither corrupt nor a thief.”
The election followed months of political crisis, including the resignation of outgoing President Otto Perez Molina and his arrest on fraud and corruption charges. With a jailed president, the country teetered on the verge of social and political chaos.
The Guatemalan Church played an important role through the crisis, holding prayer meetings like one held every Saturday morning at the Central Park.
The “Guatemala Prays” movement mobilized more than 700 churches for prayer vigils and fasting. For 40 days they prayed for a peaceful solution to the crisis.
“God put His hand in Guatemala, it’s a miracle what happened,” prayer participant Marco Antonio Ruiz said. “We came together as Church and cried out with one voice. The effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much. God heard the voice of all those who joined us in prayer.”
“The role of the Christian Church is to be the bride of the Lamb, a role of service and devotion,” Morales told CBN News. “Also to evangelize, train and improve the talents of people. So, it’s a fairly large role.”
The Church’s active participation was also reflected in a debate held days before the election. The event, organized by the country’s main evangelical organizations, was broadcast on national television and by satellite on the Christian network Enlace.
STOCKHOLM, Sweden — While Europe has welcomed in thousands of Syrians, mostly Muslims, it’s a different story for Pakistani Christians. In Sweden, many are being ordered to return home — and some may face death.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslim migrants have sought a better life in Europe. Pakistani Faisal Javaid became a Christian after he arrived in Sweden.
“I don’t have any more belief in Islam,” he told CBN News.
Javaid fell in love with Eka, a Christian woman from the country of Georgia who introduced him to Christ. He was baptized last April, but unlike many other migrants, Javaid soon faced rejection from his host country.
The word is out: If you are a Muslim and you’re from Syria, you are welcome in Sweden — there’s an open border. But if you are a Christian and you are from Pakistan, you may as well pack your bags and go home.
The Swedish Migration Board issued a deportation order against Javaid and his family. Javaid would be sent back to Pakistan, and his wife and daughter to Eka’s home country of Georgia. The couple is expecting another child in November.
Eka could barely talk about her plight, tearfully telling CBN News she wants her family to remain together in Sweden. Not only would deportation separate a family, but it would also endanger Javaid’s life because Muslims now consider him to be an apostate.
“If we will be deported — our family, relatives, friends, everyone — they just think this is their responsibility to kill us,” he explained. “We want just to save our life. I want to stay with my family.”
Javaid’s lawyer, Gabriel Donner, said, “They didn’t care if he was a convert or not. And the practice here in Sweden has so far been that no Christians from Pakistan need any protection.”
Donner sued the Swedish government, charging it had violated European Union rules that require protection for Muslims who convert to Christianity. He says the court agreed.
“The court said this can’t be done and sent everything back to the migration board and said, ‘You have to do your homework and do this properly this time,"” Donner said.
Eventually Javaid and his family may be allowed to stay in Sweden.
“As long as Faisal can prove that he is a true believer, he’s safe,” Donner explained.
But how does Javaid prove his conversion is sincere, that he didn’t just pose as a Christian to get asylum?
His pastor, Joel Backman of Elim Church, sent a letter to the migration board. He admits gauging faith is difficult.
“I mean, how do you determine my faith and how do I determine yours? So, we write what we can and that is the visible things: They come to church. They pray and they’re part of our Bible studies. They’re part of ministry as a whole,” Backman told CBN News.
“I mean that is what we can say to the government and we can throw in assessment. I believe this is sincere,” he said.
Before Elim, Javaid attended a house church in Eskiltuna led by Gabriel Blad. He said Swedish Migration Board officials have trouble distinguishing between relationship and religion. They’ll often ask Christian converts technical questions.
“We have got very strange questions sometimes,” Javaid recalled. “They will ask about liturgical collars and things like that. If you’ve been meeting in a simple home, discovering Jesus together, read the Bible and discovered Jesus.”
“They [converts] don’t know about church traditions, nothing,” he explained. “They know about Jesus. They love Jesus.”
In another case, one Pakistani’s love for Jesus nearly cost him his life. Former teacher Herman Fernandez, who changed his name from a Pakistani one, taught Western ideas to students in northwest Pakistan.
That’s when he started having difficulties with hardline Muslims.
“I got threats from two students whose parents were — what do you call them? — imams in the area,” he recalled.
Fernandez said they were concerned he was teaching the children Western ideas. They told him that he was “a kaffir” who is “bringing kaffir thoughts” to their society.
In addition to being called a kaffir, someone who has rejected Islam, Fernandez was also accused of being an American spy because he assisted some Western organizations. He said he and two colleagues were kidnapped in September 2011.
Herman claims he witnessed their murder.
“On the second or third day they beheaded one of my colleagues…and they forced me to watch it. I’m trying to get over this,” he said.
Fernandez said a second colleague was beheaded several days later. The murder was videotaped.
He said eventually one of his captors helped him escape. Afterwards, he fled to Sweden where the migration board denied his asylum request.
“They don’t see that my life is in such a danger in Pakistan,” he explained.
And what if he is deported back to Pakistan?
“They will get me either from the airport or, oh, that would be the last of me,” he gasped.
Donner also represents Fernandez. He wants the Swedish government to do a better job of considering the plight of Pakistani Christians when deciding cases like Javaid’s and Fernandez’s.
“And give them the same benefit of the doubt that they are giving today to other refugees coming into Europe,” Donner said.
From Benjamin P. Sisney from the American Court of Law and Justice
all
[ACLJ] India is taking major steps to stifle, and even criminalize conversion to, Christianity. (Photo via ACLJ.org)
Parliamentarians have announced plans to introduce a bill, ironically called “the Religious Freedom Bill,” which would reportedly “prohibit conversion from one religion to another by the use of force or allurement or by fraudulent means.” In this context, force is defined as the threat of injury “including threat of divine displeasure.”
In other words, basic Christian doctrine, including the need for a Savior, Heaven, and Hell, would lead to direct violations of this proposed law.
With a population of 1.2 billion, India is the world’s second largest nation. In 2014, the U.S. State Department estimated approximately 80.5% of India’s population are Hindu and according to Indian government officials, this number is declining:
“For the first time, the population of Hindus has been reported to be less than 80 per cent. We have to take measures to arrest the decline,” said Upper House MP Tarun Vijay, a key proponent of the bill, in a recent interview. He continued, poignantly identifying the purpose of the anti-conversion legislation: “It is very important to keep the Hindus in majority in the country.”
Some suggest that a national anti-conversion law would violate the Indian Constitution, and academically, they’re probably right. Yet, in spite of the national Constitution’s religious freedom protections, the U.S. State Department reports that “[s]ix out of 29 state governments enforced existing ‘anti-conversion’ laws.” Some of these laws require would-be converts to obtain permission from local officials. The State Department acknowledged that state-level anti-conversion laws limit religious freedom.
Christians constitute 2.3% of India’s population. That’s 27 million Christians. Already, Christians and pastors “remain under intense pressure,” and many fear that with the passage of a national anti-conversion law, this pressure is sure to increase.
While the Hindu religion is generally viewed as peaceful and tolerant, stories of violence against religious minorities, and arrests, suggest otherwise. For example, news reports have surfaced that a Christian pastor, his wife, and another church member were recently “beaten unconscious and left badly injured when Hindu extremists raided a prayer meeting last month” in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
The same source also reported that “[a]t least 19 Christians in the state were arrested last month in three separate incidents where extremists attacked or threatened Christians.”
In its 2014 Religious Freedom Report, the U.S. State Department cited an Evangelical Fellowship of India’s statement that there were between 145 to 151 incidents of anti-Christian violence in 2013 nationwide. According to the report,
There was “structural and institutional violence” against Christians in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Gujarat. According to EFI, local district councils and police in these areas were responsible for arresting Christians, denying them land rights, and harassing churches, often on the basis of nonexistent laws. Many incidents involved the seizure of land from tribal people who converted to Christianity.
In states with existing anti-conversion laws, the U.S. State Department noted that “[p]olice arrested Christians and Muslims for alleged ‘coerced conversion’ of Hindus.” The report specifically described five accounts where alleged violations of state-level anti-conversion laws led to arrests. Christians were the targets of several of these described incidents and you can be sure this list is not exhaustive.
Another recurring problem is the government’s failure to efficiently or effectively prosecute those who attacked religious minorities.
Even in India’s national Parliament, leaders manifest a festering hostility toward minority faiths—including Christians.
Lower House MP and senior legislator Yogi Adityanath, also a Hindu head priest, recently said that opponents of Hindu customs “should leave India or drown themselves in the ocean.” Statements like this “makes minority communities suspicious about the intentions of this government,” cautioned one Christian organization.
While the anti-conversion law targets the forced conversions from the Hindu faith, reports of forced conversions to the Hindu faith have also surfaced. Reportedly, India’s Parliament was recently “disrupted for days as opposition members protested against Hindu hardline groups for allegedly forcing religious minorities to convert to Hinduism.” Some of the “hardline” groups are close to the Prime Minister’s ruling BJP party.
Given the current hostility directed toward Christians in India, we can expect that passage of a national anti-conversion law will lead to a dramatic increase in the persecution of Christians. We must heed the warning of Christians on the ground in India, and oppose the national effort of Hindu extremists to prevent the spreading of the Christian faith.
As we continue fighting through our office in the region and across the globe to protect persecuted Christians, we urge India to protect and not prosecute Christians. We will also continue working to ensure that our own government implements foreign policies that would encourage nations like India to respect and not repress the fundamental human rights of their Christian populations.
The deaths of hundreds of thousands in Syria is not due to a lack of compassion from the international community, but because people are “under the illusion that this is not their struggle,” Kayla Mueller once told her parents.
The parents of Christian humanitarian aid worker Kayla, whose rape and death while in ISIS captivity was confirmed in February, shared a letter their daughter wrote to them while serving in Syria.
Her father, Carl Mueller, remembered asking her to come home:
“I was angry. I said, ‘This is not your war, these are not your people. You don’t need to die for this. Come home,"” he said, before reading the words she wrote back.
“I do believe this is my struggle,” Kayla wrote. “Really, in the end, the real reason that 100,000 lives have been lost in Syria is not because people don’t care, or don’t have sympathy or compassion. But rather it’s because people are under the illusion that this is not their struggle, it is not their people and it’s not their concern.”
Kayla was taken hostage by ISIS in August 2013 after leaving a hospital in Aleppo, Syria. Although ISIS initially clamied that she was killed by a US-led airstrike, three Yazidi girls who were held alongside Mueller and have since escaped told the BBC in September that she was murdered by jihadists.
Speaking at the event on Friday held to honour their daughter at her old university, Northern Arizona University, Marsha Mueller shared the joy her work brought Kayla:
“It was hard not to let Kayla go to all these places she did because it gave her so much joy. The more she helped, the more she got.”
When Kayla told her parents she wanted to graduate from NAU in two and a half years instead of four, she justified it simply:
“She said, ‘Mom, I’ve got things I need to do. I need to get out there and do things,"” Marsha said.
The couple also shared how, amidst moments of deep sorrow, they had shared moments of gratitude hearing the impact their daughter had and is having around the world.
A local rabbi once visited them, bringing a message from a rabbi Kayla had befriend in Israel, and just moments later they received a text message from a Palestinian group that their daughter had worked with.
“Kayla was like a voice in the deep forest screaming the truth and screaming reality but nobody was there to listen, nobody could hear,” Carl said. “But now she’s being heard, she’s affecting people all over the world.”
Kayla has been awarded multiple honours since her death, one of which was from the Desert Southwest Methodist Conference of the United Methodist Church in June, recognising her and her ministry with the Francis Asbury Award.
“This is in honour, in memory and celebration of what it means to be a disciple and to transform the world and to love others,” said Rob Rynders, chair of the regional United Methodist Board of Campus Ministry as he presented the award.
CBN News(Bremen, Germany)—[CBN News] Germany was the birthplace of the Reformation and was once a base for world missions. But much of Germany today is covered by a profound spiritual darkness, as are most Western nations.Those who refuse to compromise on the teaching of Scripture pay a price.Bremen Pastor Olaf Latzel knows full well that there is a cost for speaking out boldly—especially in today’s Germany, where traditional Christian teaching is viewed by many as bigoted, hateful, and even “un-Christian.”
Latzel has been attacked in the media, investigated by the local government, and even denounced by fellow pastors. His crime? Refusing to bend a knee to political correctness.
“I’m only preaching the Gospel in a clear way,” Latzel said. “I think it is my duty to do this preaching in this way for our Lord.”
In his sermons, Latzel cuts no corners. He soft-pedals nothing. To some, he might sound mean when he attacks other religions.
But Latzel is standing against what he sees as a spirit of compromise that seems to have swallowed Germany and the German state church.
In the process, he has angered the German establishment and even a lot of German pastors.
Latzel said the chief battle in the German church today now is over who God is.
According to Latzel, some Christian pastors have said “Allah and Jesus Christ, the Christian God, is the same god.”
“But if you ask a Muslim, ‘Does your god have a son?’ he would say no!” he continued. “Our (Christian) God has a Son; His name is Jesus Christ. So, they are not the same.”
“If you speak out loud and clearly about the truth of the Bible, that there’s only one way to Heaven and this way is Jesus Christ, there is only one God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and there is no other god beside Him, then you have a problem,” he said.
Seventy German pastors gathered in Bremen this year to denounce Latzel behind a banner celebrating “diversity.”
The public prosecutor investigated him for hate speech and then cleared him, and the Bremen parliament passed a resolution against him.
It was reportedly the first time a German pastor has been condemned by a German parliament since World War II.
But far from backing down, Latzel said the real problem is that, in his estimation, most pastors in Germany’s state church have not been born again.
“I think over 80 percent of the pastors in the national church in Germany are not reborn,” he said. “And that’s a great problem, and because of this, they make their own doctrine. The Bible is the Word of God; it’s our law, chapter by chapter, book by book, sentence by sentence, letter by letter.”
Latzel pastors at the historic St. Martini (St. Martin’s) Church in Bremen, where around 1679 the church’s pastor, Joachim Neander, wrote the great hymn, “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”
Latzel enjoys saying that Pastor Neander also got in trouble for preaching the Gospel boldly.
It’s a big How are the mighty fallen!
We don’t usually think of pastors as mighty, though we know they fall. But the height from which Kong Hee fell is very considerable, and his conviction with five other staff members of Singapore’s City Harvest Church for embezzlement has stunned his 20,000-strong congregation.
According to the Asia One news service, on Sunday morning Kong faced a crowded auditorium at the Suntec convention centre, bowed and said, “Pastor is sorry”. He had used the same words at a service on Saturday night.
Kong, his deputy pastor Tan Ye Peng, finance manager Sharon Tan and former finance manager Serina Wee, were found guilty with former board members John Lam and Chew Eng Han of misusing $17 million from the church’s building fund to further the music career of Kong’s wife Ho Yeow Sun, known as Sun Ho. A further $18.5 million was used to cover up the scheme through a complicated system of bond issues and ’round-tripping’ transactions in which the church used its own money to pay debt owed to it.
The funds were used to support Sun Ho’s career through CHC’s ‘Crossover Project’, aimed at promoting a Christian voice in the secular music industry – a mission tactic familiar in the West but far less so in the East.
Kong could face as long as 20 years in prison.
Another website, Mothership.sg, quoted extensively from Kong’s address. He told the congregation: “I understand that what I’m about to say has already been widely reported in the local media, since last night. But nevertheless I think it’s important for me as your senior pastor to express my heart to you this morning. So even if you have heard it, give me a chance to say it.
“Over the last few days, many of you have asked me ‘Pastor, how have you been?’ I’ve received hundreds of text messages, emails, and of course I am saddened with the outcome of the trial. But this I do want to say.
“You have suffered much over the past few years because of your commitment to City Harvest Church. And your commitment to me. I am so sorry for all the pain and the turmoil you have had to endure under my leadership, under my watch. You have had to answer questions, and criticisms from family, from friends, from colleagues.
“Pastor is so very sorry. So so sorry. That you have to endure through all this under my leadership.”
He bowed three times in different directions as the congregation stood and applauded.
Kong told the congregation that the church’s future was secure, “because of you and the new leadership that has been put in place”. He added: “Out of the ashes, we will rise.”
The church’s executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain showed extracts from the judge’s ruling on screens. The first acknowledged that the six who were found guilty “loved CHC” and believed they were using church funds for an evangelistic purpose of which the congregation would approve. The second said that they had known they were using the funds in a way they were not legally entitled to do and referred to the “element of dishonesty” in their conduct.
Zulkarnain said: “While we may not understand the full meaning of this judgement, one thing to know is that the judge acknowledged that the motive of the six was their love for the church and they believed they were using church funds for an evangelistic purpose.” He said that the church would improve its governance.
American pastor A R Bernard, founder of the New York-based Christian Cultural Centre, preached at the service, focusing on remaining faithful in spite of difficulties.
Kong and his wife Sun Ho closed the service with a song. Sun Ho said: “Thank you for being here, for being courageous and supportive. Thank you for your love. It has made a difference for all of us and our family members. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
The case follows the guilty verdict in the case of South Korean pastor David Yonggi Cho, founder of the world’s largest church, who was found guilty of tax evasion and embezzlement last year and jailed.
[Todd Starnes, Fox News] A school district in Washington State has decided to play hardball with a football coach who refused to stop his mid-field, post-game prayers. (Screengrab via Fox News/Liberty Institute)
I received an exclusive copy of a three-page letter sent to Bremerton High School Coach Joe Kennedy from Superintendent Aaron Leavell.
The nutshell? Coach Joe must stop praying or he will be punished.
“Any further violations will be grounds for discipline, up to and including discharge from District employment,” Leavell wrote in an Oct. 23 letter.
I can only imagine what might happen should the coach have to call a Hail Mary play.
“I was really shocked, Coach Joe told me. “I went out of my way to accommodate them. All I wanted to do was pray—and now I can’t even pray at all.”
For years the former Marine combat veteran would walk alone to the 50-yard line and offer a prayer of thanksgiving and blessing after football games. He drew inspiration for his post-game prayers from “Facing the Giants”, a popular faith-based film. Over the years, players and coaches from both teams would join him—on their own volition.
On Sept. 27th Leavell fired off a letter to the coach warning him to cease and desist.
“Your talks with students may not include religious expression, including prayer,” he wrote. “They must remain entirely secular in nature, so as to avoid alienation of any team member.” (Screengrab via Fox News/Liberty Institute)
In his most recent letter, Leavell said the school district would be glad to provide a place for Coach Joe to pray—so long as it was in private—”not observable to students or the public.”
“For example, a private location within the school building, athletic facility or press box could be made available to you for a brief religious exercise before and after games,” Superintendent Leavell wrote.
To be clear, Coach Joe is forbidden from bowing his head, taking a knee or doing anything that might remotely be construed as religious.
“While on duty for the District as an assistant coach, you may not engage in demonstrative religious activity, readily observable to (of not intended to be observed by) students and the attending public,” the superintendent added.
That means he’s not even allowed to bow his head behind the bleachers where the kids are smoking pot.
Liberty Institute, the nation’s largest law firm specializing in religious liberty cases, is preparing to initiate legal proceedings against the school district—accusing them of religious discrimination.
“They’ve already punished Coach Joe by denying his request for religious accommodation,” attorney Hiram Sasser told me. “Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, they’ve already violated his civil rights.”
Superintendent Leavell stressed in his letter that the district does not prohibit prayer or other religious exercises by its employees.
“However, it must prohibit any conduct by employees that would serve as District endorsement of religion,” he said.(Screengrab via Fox News/Liberty Institute)
Sasser said the district’s argument is outrageous.
“What they are saying is he cannot pray by himself, he cannot simply take a knee at the 50-yard-line,” Sasser said. “That’s like telling a coach he can’t wear a yarmulke if he’s Jewish, he can’t wear a turban if he’s a Sikh, he can’t pray to Mecca if he’s a Muslim, he can’t wear a cross necklace if he’s a Christian.”
Late last week State Superintendent Randy Dorn released a statement backing the school district.
“It’s unfortunate when the actions of one employee affect an entire district,” Dorn said.
As if a football coach who prays for his team is engaged in some sort of criminal enterprise.
Dorn went on to suggest that teachers like Coach Joe are not good role models.
“School staff exercising their right to silently pray in private on their own is fine. But leading a prayer isn’t,” he said. “School officials are role models; leading a prayer might put a student in an awkward position, even if the prayer is voluntary. For students who don’t share the official’s faith, players, the official’s public expression of faith can seem exclusionary or even distressing.”
For the record, Coach Joe never invited anyone to pray with him—especially students. They chose to participate by their own free will.
Sasser said the state superintendent does have a point—there are people in the state of Washington who feel disenfranchised—Christians.
“When they find out a coach can’t even silently pray at the 50-yard-line, there’s no greater message of hostility than that,” Sasser told me. “This is not a school being neutral. This is a school being hostile to religion—and we are going to hold them accountable.”
Provided Coach Joe still has a job on Friday night, he plans to do what he’s done after every other football game.
“I’m going to keep on praying,” he said.
(Los Angeles, CA)—The faith-based football drama WOODLAWN entered rarified air in its opening weekend, earning an accolade from audiences bestowed on only a handful of films each year. (Photo via Woodlawnmovie.com)
The movie, an exhilarating true-life high school football story about revival and reconciliation that offers hope for overcoming the racial crises facing America today, received an A+ rating from Cinemascore, the film industry’s pre-eminent gauge of audience opinion for more than 35 years.
Only a few films annually receive the coveted rating, with faith films being well-represented among the honorees in recent years.
WOODLAWN was directed by Jon and Andy Erwin and produced by Kevin Downes. Roma Downey and Mark Burnett were executive producers under their Lightworkers Media banner.
Downey and Burnett aren’t surprised audiences are responding so positively to the film.
“Clearly WOODLAWN got this extraordinary rating because it’s an A+ film,” the husband-and-wife producing partners said. “WOODLAWN” takes the audience on a sweeping journey, which is both exciting and emotional. The Erwin Brothers made an incredible film, and people are loving it. We are very encouraged.”
WOODLAWN outperformed industry predictions in its opening weekend box office, taking in an estimated $4 million.
But audiences aren’t alone in their high praise. Critics are also raving about WOODLAWN. Michael Rechtshaffen of the L.A. Times says the film “gets high marks for its attention to period detail and committed performances.”
Jackie K. Cooper of the Huffington Post says “WOODLAWN scores big” and “revs up the chill factor, and sends you out of the theater resolved to be a better person.”
James Ward of Gannett News Service says “it’s impossible not to recognize the skill and power of the way the filmmakers tell their story.”
And Variety praised it as a “consistently involving period drama” whose “narrative mix of history lesson, gridiron action and spiritual uplift is effectively and satisfyingly sustained.”
“For me, as gratifying as the Cinemascore rating is, what’s really touched me are the incredible ways audiences are engaging with the film,” Jon Erwin said. “Rival football teams are seeing it together and praying together. They are making the same decision for love and unity depicted in the film.”
WOODLAWN tells the true-life story of Tony Nathan (newcomer Caleb Castille), who lands in a powder keg of anger and violence when he joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, AL, after its government-mandated desegregation in 1973.
The Woodlawn Colonels football team is a microcosm of the problems at the school and in the city, which erupts in cross burnings and riots, and Coach Tandy Gerelds (Nic Bishop) is at a loss to solve these unprecedented challenges with his disciplinarian ways.
It’s only when Hank (Sean Astin), an outsider who has been radically affected by the message of hope and love he experienced at a Christian revival meeting, convinces Coach Gerelds to let him speak to the team that something truly remarkable begins to happen. More than 40 players, nearly the entire team, black and white, give their lives over to the “better way” Hank tells them is possible through following Jesus, and the change is so profound in them it affects their coach, their school and their community in ways no one could have imagined.(Photo via Woodlawnmovie.com)
The Colonels make a run at the state playoffs led by Nathan, who achieves superstar status in Birmingham and attracts the attention of legendary University of Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant (Jon Voight). It’s the miracle, Hank says, of what happens when God shows up.
“You always hope audiences are entertained and moved by the films you make,” Producer Kevin Downes said. “We couldn’t be happier at the response WOODLAWN has received.”
According to Christian Today, Archimandrite Tikhon has authorized the project and hopes it will become a tourist attraction. Tikhon is an avid diver himself and has recruited the support of the ‘Mother of the Beaver’ diving club in Sevastopol, as well as the Night Wolves motorcycle gang.
Both groups are helping with the project.
The church will be built around 20 meters under the water, 100 meters off the coast of Cape Fiolent which is near Sevastopol.
A three-meter tall cross with an anchor design has already been erected underneath the waves and is the first piece of the church in place.
Divers also plan to install a table and massive concrete candle holders before the summer diving season comes to an end.
“Inside there will be images, icons–everything that you would find in a church,” Tikhon stated.
Christian Today reports that Tikhon also wants the unique church to feature relics from the Crimean War, famed for the Charge of the Light Brigade.
The church will be named after St. Nicholas who is the patron saint of sailors.
Worldwide Christian News – Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Who Made God? Chapter 2: TOUGH QUESTIONS ABOUT EVIL by Ronald Rhodes
In early 1999, my brother’s son Greg was hit by a car and killed. After the funeral service, the question that happen?” It is the same question people through the ages have asked whenever tragedy strikes: Why do bad things happen to good people? And what does it say about God that such things occur? Just think what the friends and relatives of the almost three thousand people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, must have wrestled with.
Pollster George Barna was once commissioned to inquire of people what one question they would ask of God if they had the opportunity. By an overwhelming margin, the most urgent question was: “Why is there so much suffering in the world?”
My goal is to briefly examine some of the tough questions about evil. I book, not just a short chapter. Abbreviated treatments always run the risk of superficiality. I urge the reader to supplement my brief treatment with some of the more exhaustive works cited in the endnotes and in the suggested resources listed at the back of this book.
Before getting to the questions, be good to record a few preliminary thoughts about evil. Evil is not something that has an existence all its own; rather, it is a corruption of that which already exists. Evil is the absence or privation of something good. Rot, for example, can exist only as long as the tree exists. Tooth decay can exist only as long as the tooth exists. Rust on a car and a decaying carcass illustrate the same point. Evil exists as a corruption of that which already exists.
Norman Geisler tells us, “Evil is like a wound in an arm or moth-holes in a garment. It exists only in another but not in itself.” 3 Of course, to say that evil is not a thing in itself is not the same as saying that evil is unreal. Evil may not be an actual substance, but it involves an actual privation in good substances.
Who Made God? Chapter 2: TOUGH QUESTIONS ABOUT EVIL by Ronald Rhodes
The Beast Rises: Chapters 9 through 12 (Left Behind-The Kids) 9 – Meeting Leon; 10 – Z-Van’s Song;
11 – Death on the Platform; 12 – Dead Man Talking
Vicki rushed into the living room and told the others what she had heard. The kids tried to assure Vicki that Charlie would be okay, but Vicki wouldn’t listen. “I should never have let him stay.”
“It was his decision,” Mark said.
“Now we know the GC’s tactic against believers,” Conrad said. “They burned Jeff Williams house, Chaim Rosenzweig’s, and now the Shairtons’.”
“We have to go back and see if they’re all right,” Vicki said.
“If they made it out of the house, the GC caught them,” Mark said.
“Then we have to go back and get them released!”
“How about that Morale Monitor you know?” Shelley said. “Maybe she can help.”
“We haven’t heard from Natalie since the message she sent about Carl,” Mark said.
While he wrote Natalie, Vicki gathered the others and prayed for Charlie, Bo, and Ginny. They pleaded with God to help keep them safe.
**********
Judd moved awkwardly in the Middle Eastern clothing he and Lionel were wearing. They had turbans wrapped tightly around their heads. Judd didn’t want to take any chance that the GC might recognize them.
The air was hot but dry in New Babylon as the two walked behind Z-Van’s wheelchair. Westin led them up a ramp and into a courtyard, where hundreds of employees had gathered to see the private unveiling of Carpathia’s glass coffin.
Spotlights made it seem like daylight as they passed a barricade. A GC official brought the small group near the stand where the coffin would be displayed. “You can watch the ceremony and from here,” the man said.
Z-Van thanked him and turned to Judd. “You can leave if you want.”
“We’ll stay.”
“Carpathia could rise any minute,” Lionel whispered.
A live orchestra played a somber song as ten pallbearers carried in the Plexiglas coffin. Two hundred yards away men and women from around the world mourned. Some cried and wailed, throwing hands in the air. Others fell to the ground and ripped their close. Young children screamed and cried. Judd wondered whether they were devoted to Carpathia or just frightened by all the noise
Pallbearers carefully laid the coffin on its stand and backed away. Employees walked up stairs and filed past the potentate’s body. Two pallbearers removed the shroud that covered Carpathia and people gasped.
The Beast Rises: Chapters 9 through 12 (Left Behind-The Kids)
The Beast Rises: Chapters 5 through 8 (Left Behind-The Kids) 5 – Change of Plans; 6 – Vicki’s Story; 7 – Judd’s Flight; 8 – New Babylon Touchdown
Judd and the others rushed to the Rosenzweig estate, but it was too late. Flames licked at every level of the home and out the windows. Soon, the beautiful house would be nothing but charred rubble.
Global Community officers kept people back. A television crew set up nearby and prepared to go live.
“Behind me you see the estate of international statesman and beloved Israeli inventor, Dr. Chaim Rosenzweig,” the young reporter said. “Dr. Rosenzweig was on the stage tonight as a special guest of Potentate Carpathia. Authorities fear that after the assassination of His Excellency, Rosenzweig returned here and was killed in this fire, along with his staff.
“What?” Judd said to Lionel. “How could they know that?”
“A Global Community source who asked not to be named gave us information that there are a number of bodies inside, and that there is no possibility of getting them out until the fire has been brought under control.”
Judd shook his head and walked back to the General’s house. He took Lionel and Sam aside. “Okay, help me figure this out. Rosenzweig kills Carpathia. The GC had to have seen it on the video. They torch his house and kill him, but then they accuse Rayford Steele of killing Carpathia. Why?”
“Maybe they think they can get two people with one assassination,” Sam said. “Whether Steele fired the shot or not, they accuse him and all believers will be suspect.”
“Do you really think Captain Steele fired the shot?” Lionel asked.
Jeff was distracted by the television news which again showed Steele’s picture and aired his voice. “This man may be in disguise,” the anchor said. “He is considered armed and extremely dangerous. If you see him, contact your local GC post. Again, this man, Rayford Steele, is believed to be the lone assassin who shot and killed Nicolae Carpathia Friday night. Global Community Security and Intelligence forces found his fingerprints on what is believed to be the murder weapon, a powerful handgun known as a Saber.”
The Beast Rises: Chapters 5 through 8 (Left Behind-The Kids)
In states with existing anti-conversion laws, the U.S. State Department noted that “[p]olice arrested Christians and Muslims for alleged ‘coerced conversion’ of Hindus.” The report specifically described five accounts where alleged violations of state-level anti-conversion laws led to arrests. Christians were the targets of several of these described incidents and you can be sure this list is not exhaustive. 
(Bremen, Germany)—[
Seventy German pastors gathered in Bremen this year to denounce Latzel behind a banner celebrating “diversity.”
