WORD WATCH DAILY PERSPECTIVE
May the Son of the God of Israel bless you with His joy!
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Palestinian sources:
Gulf officials met Netanyahu in Israel
Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan at his palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2008
(photo : AP/Hassan Ammar)
Unconfirmed report claims delegation from an unnamed Arab country was in Tel Aviv earlier this month for consultations on Iran
delegation from a Persian Gulf country recently visited Israel to meet with Israeli officials, the Palestinian weekly al-Manar reported on Sunday. “Two-high rankings officials” were in Israel on December 10, the report said, citing Palestinian sources.
The Gulf country that sent the delegation was not identified, although al-Manar speculated that it was Saudi Arabia, based on a report that Saudis and Israelis had met in Monaco the previous week. The sources alleged that, in Israel, the Saudi officials met with officials from the foreign and defense ministries, even meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself.
US offered to guard Jordan Valley, Palestinians say
Netanyahu, who has demanded a permanent Israeli presence
in the Jordan Valley, with IDF officers in the region in 2011
(Photo credit: Moshe Milner/ GPO/ Flash 90)
Report comes as Kerry is set to present his framework agreement; Israel has rejected an international force in the past
American troops could guard the border between a Palestinian state and Jordan, US Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly proposed to Palestinian officials amid discussions of a security plan for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
The London-based pan-Arab daily A-Sharq al-Awsat on Monday quoted Palestinian sources to the effect that the Americans had changed their position, moving closer to Palestinian demands in the face of stiff Palestinian resistance to the idea of a continued IDF presence on the border.
Abbas said to lay out PA demands as Kerry prepares framework deal
Abbas reportedly tells Arab League top US diplomat to visit region next week with framework plan, but Palestinians will refuse to recognize Israel as Jewish state
US Secretary of State John Kerry will present a written framework agreement next week for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, a senior Arab League official said Sunday while unveiling Palestinian demands for a final deal.
Arab League Assistant Secretary General Mohammad Sbeih said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other Arab officials revealed to an Arab League meeting of foreign ministers that Kerry would present the plan on December 31, according to a report in the Palestinian Ma’an news agency.
White House condemns Syrian air campaign in Aleppo
The White House on Monday condemned the Syrian government's aerial assault on Aleppo which is believed to have left hundreds dead, many of them civilians.
"The United States condemns the ongoing air assault by Syrian government forces on civilians, including the indiscriminate use of SCUD missiles and barrel bombs in and around Aleppo over the last week," White House press secretary Jay Carney said.
"The attacks over the weekend killed more than 300 people, many of them children. The Syrian government must respect its obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the civilian population."
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Featured News  | ||
| Tuesday, Dec 24, 2013 01:15:26 AM EST EU mulls delaying anti-Israel document in light of ongoing peace talks | Tuesday, Dec 24, 2013 12:42:06 AM EST Confident Putin frees foes ahead of Sochi Olympics | Monday, Dec 23, 2013 06:16:59 PM EST Computerizing people may be next step in tech; Google’s Motorola Mobility branch proposed an “electronic skin tattoo |
| Monday, Dec 23, 2013 05:00:40 PM EST Israel to Abbas: No, Jesus was not a Palestinian | Monday, Dec 23, 2013 12:47:00 AM EST U.S. will seek triggers to reimpose sanctions on Iran: Rice | Sunday, Dec 22, 2013 03:50:34 PM EST 'We Respect All Individuals Right to Express Their Beliefs'; Cracker Barrel Apologizes, Returns Duck Dynasty Items to Stores After Christians Protest |
| Sunday, Dec 22, 2013 01:42:34 AM EST 5 takeaways from Obama’s news conference | Saturday, Dec 21, 2013 02:24:57 AM EST American Generals: Israel Should Keep 'West Bank' | Saturday, Dec 21, 2013 02:23:18 AM EST Putin Backs Israel's Security Needs in Middle East |
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Inspired by God
"The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day." - E. M. Bounds | ||
| Friday, Aug 16, 2013 01:44:04 AM EDT December 24: Quiet Time with God - Streams in the Desert | Tuesday, Mar 05, 2013 02:57:42 AM EST December 24: The Hidden Life - Oswald Chambers | Tuesday, Mar 05, 2013 02:56:46 AM EST December 24: An Intimate Look at the Birth of Jesus - Charles Stanley |
| Thursday, Mar 12, 2009 10:36:42 AM EDT A.W. Tozer's Daily Devotional | Thursday, Mar 12, 2009 10:35:45 AM EDT Charles Spurgeon's 'Morning and Evening' Daily Devotional | Thursday, Mar 12, 2009 10:34:26 AM EDT Daily Light 'Morning and Evening' Devotional - Jonathan Bagster |
| Friday, Aug 08, 2008 08:36:37 AM EDT Charles Stanley's Audio Messages | Sunday, Dec 09, 2007 08:35:44 AM EST McLean Bible's Internet Services - Pastor Lon Solomon: Services are "live" Sunday' at 9 am, 10:45 am, & 12:30 pm (Eastern-US), rebroadcast Monday at 2 pm (Eastern-US) | Wednesday, Jan 31, 2007 04:14:46 PM EST Pastor Lon Solomon, McLean Bible Church, McLean, Virginia - Sermons by Date, Series and Podcasts |
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RAPTURE READY NEWS PERSPECTIVE
RAPTURE READY Nearing midnight PERSPECTIVE
Russia is Developing a “UAV-Killer” Defense System
Pantsir-S (SA-22 Greyhound) is a gun-missile system combining a wheeled vehicle mounting a fire-control radar and electro-optical sensor, two 30-mm cannon and up to 12 57E6 radio-command guided short-range missiles, and is designed to engage a variety of low-altitude, highly maneuverable targets. Some 50 Pantsir-S systems are currently in service with the Russian air force, according to the Defense Ministry.
Israel launches airstrike in Gaza Strip retaliating for deadly shooting
Israeli warplanes have carried out an airstrike in the Gaza Strip in response to the fatal shooting of an Israeli civilian, AP reports citing the military. The Israel Air Force struck targets in the southern Gaza Strip hours after an Israeli contract worker was killed by gunfire coming from across the border.
The Latest Weapon Against Israel: Palestinian Christian Advocacy
With the help of the Mennonite Central Committee and World Vision, Evangelicals for Social Action (ESA) pulled together a diverse group of almost 200 “Jesus Followers” for a conversation about the conflict between Israel and Palestinians.
Car bomb kills 13 at Egyptian police compound
A car bomb tore through a police compound in Egypt's Nile Delta on Tuesday, killing 13 people and wounding more than 130, security officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks since the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July.
White House tries to prevent ruling on NSA surveillance
The Obama administration has filed papers to prevent a federal judge from issuing a ruling on whether the government’s warrantless surveillance programs are constitutional. In a pair of filings late Friday with the Northern District of California, the White House acknowledged for the first time that NSA’s bulk data collection on American’s Internet and phone activity was authorized by President Bush in the weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
‘Church’ Expecting Festive Flock Of Atheists For Christ-Less Christmas Service
A “church” that is “taking the Christ out of Christmas” is expecting an influx of believers at its festive services this year. The Sunday Assembly is a godless congregation with the slogan “live better, help often, wonder more”. Since it began in London earlier this year, it has grown by 3,000% with Sunday Assemblies being opened in 30 major cities across the British Isles and overseas from Vancouver to Sydney.
Pakistani Terror Group Threatens Deadly Attacks on New York, Washington, D.C.
Pakistan’s most dangerous terrorist organization, the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), has promised it will attack New York and Washington, D.C., in an act of revenge with suicide fighters, according to a newly released video obtained by TheBlaze. The group also claims responsibility for the most deadly attack in CIA history and the failed bombing of New York’s Times Square.
Christians feel pressure to keep silent about their faith, Lord Carey warns
Christians in Britain feel under pressure to keep silent about their faith in public, a former Archbishop of Canterbury has warned... Lord Carey, who was Archbishop of Canterbury until 2002, said he is “worried about the future of faith in the West” as he highlighted an “increasing timidity” among churchgoers, with some fearing to admit faith in their own workplaces.
Computerizing people may be next step in tech
It’s likely the world in the not-so-distant future will be increasingly populated by computerized people like Amal Graafstra. The 37-year-old doesn’t need a key or password to get into his car, home or computer. He’s programmed them to unlock at the mere wave of his hands, which are implanted with radio frequency identification tags...he’s sold similar ones to more than 500 customers through his company Dangerous Things.
Israeli Officials Demand End To US Spying, Email Tracking
Senior Israeli officials on Sunday demanded an end to U.S. spying on Israel, following revelations that the National Security Agency intercepted emails from the offices of the country’s top former leaders. It was the first time that Israeli officials have expressed anger since details of U.S. spying on Israel began to trickle out in documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Jailed Egypt Muslim Brotherhood members on hunger strike
More than 450 jailed members of the Muslim Brotherhood have gone on hunger strike in Egypt in protest at their "inhumane treatment", the group says. The prisoners, who include senior aides to deposed President Mohammed Morsi, say they have been denied family visits and access to medical care. More than 2,000 members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested since the overthrow of Mr Morsi.
Egypt violence: Deadly car bomb hits security site
A car bomb attack at a security building in northern Egypt has killed at least 12 people and injured more than 100, officials and state media say. The blast led to the partial collapse of the building in the city of Mansoura, north of the capital, Cairo. Interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi called it "an act of terrorism".
South Sudan sees 'mass ethnic killings'
New evidence is emerging of alleged ethnic killings committed during more than a week of fighting in South Sudan. The violence follows a power struggle between President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and his Nuer ex-deputy Riek Machar. A reporter in the capital, Juba, quoted witnesses as saying more than 200 people, mostly from the Nuer ethnic group, were shot by security forces.
US and Canada storms spell cold, dark Christmas for many
Hundreds of thousands of households in Canada and the northern US are facing a Christmas without electricity after a severe ice storm. Nearly 400,000 customers in eastern Canada and 390,000 in the US are still without power, with Michigan worst hit. In Toronto, a utility has said power may not be restored for most residents until Thursday, and that some may be without electricity until the weekend.
Dec 23, 2013
Duck Dynasty Star Roasted over Gay Comments
The TV show, Duck Dynasty has become a huge hit for the A&E Network. It is about a southern family that has an empire based on duck calls, used in hunting. The show regularly draws 9 million-plus viewers. Duck Dynasty’s fourth season premiere drew 11.8 million viewers, which is an all-time-record for any non-fiction cable telecast.
The greatest financial success of Duck Dynasty has been in its merchandizing; the show has T-shirts, posters, coffee mugs, calendar, jewelry and dozens of other products. I was at Wal-Mart today and I saw more products with the Duck Dynasty name on them than I did during the Hanna Montana craze.
With so much money at stake, one would think there is almost nothing the cast could do to disrupt the show. Something has happened, and it demonstrates where we are as a nation. A&E has placed Duck Dynasty patriarch, Phil Robertson, on indefinite hiatus following anti-gay remarks he made in an interview with GQmagazine.
During a discussion about repentance and God, Robertson was asked what he finds sinful. He replied by giving a practical explanation for why homosexual sex is wrong. He said a woman’s body should naturally be more attractive and desirable to a man. “She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical,” said Robertson.
He then paraphrased 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers -- they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”
The Gay group, GLADD, climbed in on the controversy saying that Phil and his family were not true Christians because they didn’t show love for gay people. GLADD also said, “His [Bible] quote was littered with outdated stereotypes and blatant misinformation.”
Robertson released a wonderful statement in response to the flap:
I myself am a product of the ‘60s; I centered my life around sex, drugs and rock and roll until I hit rock bottom and accepted Jesus as my Savior. My mission today is to go forth and tell people about, why I follow Christ and also what the Bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together. However, I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other.
This is not the first time that Phil Robertson has had conflicts with the show’s producers. In 2012, he confronted them over the attempts to edit out the name of “Jesus” during their prayer at the end of each episode—by adding misleading “fake bleeps” to the program when there was no profanity spoken.
I imagine there is going to be pressure placed on Phil to get him to change his views. The worst thing he could do would be to release a statement that could be interpreted as an admission of guilt. (If you do that, the liberal media are trained to come in for the kill.)
When I heard Phil Robertson’s strong confession of faith several months ago, I knew it would eventually get him into trouble. The media has become so anti-Christian, you mention the Name of Jesus and you instantly become a target.
The same thing happened to Tim Tewbow earlier this year. Even though Tewbow was the most popular player in the NFL and has a proven draw for audiences, he was passed around from team to team because the management and sports reporters didn’t like his open-confession of faith.
The most troubling part of this controversy is the silence on the part of the church. Despite the fact that there are millions of Christians—who agree one-hundred-percent with Robertson’s view on homosexuality, few of them are willing to take a public stand to support him. The outcome I fear the most is a general rule expecting Christian celebrities to keep their faith to themselves.
Believers need to realize there is no peace with this world. The children of darkness are constantly looking for opportunities to attack those who call on the name of Jesus. Because the enemy’s hatred of us remains constant, we should never let our guard down.
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But [this cometh to pass], that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, they hated me without a cause” (John 15:18-25).
--Todd
HeavenVision Revisited
Please indulge me just a bit in my using this week’s Nearing Midnight column as a cathartic exercise, at least in part. I believe you will find my ruminations relevant to our purpose in presenting these articles each week.
Sunday, December 15, I received a phone call. It was Brenda, wife of a life-long friend, and I do mean life-long. Her husband, Howard, and I were born one month apart--Howard in El Dorado, Arkansas, and me in Camden, Arkansas. Each city is about the same distance from Hampton, a very small town in the southern part of the state. El Dorado is thirty miles south and Camden thirty miles west. They had the hospitals; Hampton didn’t. Our parents both lived in Hampton when we were born–one block apart.
I knew the news wasn’t something I wanted to hear. Brenda and I, although friends, too, don’t talk very much.
“Howard passed away about 12:30 this morning,” she said.
Howard had, until about two years ago, been beating men in their forties in tennis, one of his passions in life. He wasn’t prideful about it; he just enjoyed quietly--with finesse, not power--beating the tennis shorts off those youngsters, as we viewed them from our lofty perch in our late sixties at the time.
Howard was on his roof one day about two years ago, sweeping pine needles to the ground, when he suddenly got weak and had trouble breathing. His weakness increased and the doctors told him he had heart arrhythmia. They put in a pacemaker, but the problems persisted and increased. Finally, he was diagnosed with a degenerative heart disease that had to be treated with chemotherapy, although, as I take it, it wasn’t cancer. The treatments were astronomical in cost and quite taxing on his body.
So, when I heard Brenda’s voice, I knew instantly, even before she said so, that my life-long pal had passed into that glorious realm he often talked about during his many, many years of teaching Sunday school at First Baptist Church.
It was a long, painful time of dying, and I was relieved for him, although I will miss him greatly.
I have related in these columns about Good Friday, April 22, 2011, when, following a brisk workout, I suffered a “widow-maker” heart attack. My heart stopped at least three times and they brought me back from clinical death with defibrillation shocks. Each time, I was in the heavenly presence of a throng of young, cheering people. The last time the heart stopped, I was among that group, and we were running as if in a victory lap–I have since come to believe—toward the very gate that was the entrance to God’s eternal abode.
I am totally blind, as many know, but could see perfectly well–even better than that—while with those young people. But then things grew dark again, and, each time, I returned to this earthly existence. On the final trip back, I returned to the catheterization lab, where they had removed the blockage to the affected artery. The interventional cardiologist who removed the blockage told my wife that I had been dead on arrival. He said that 95 percent of all who have this occurrence don’t live through it. The cardiologists were so impressed with my case that they made me the Arkansas "Cardiac Patient of the Year." This gave me opportunity to tell the cardiologists in their meetings at Little Rock about how, while I appreciated everything their profession had done for me, it was the Lord Jesus Christ who determined that I would return to fight another round or two.
My friend Howard and his wife Brenda were among the very first to show up in the cardiac ICU recovery room where I lay for the next several days. I was terribly disturbed because I didn’t have an opportunity to visit Howard, except by phone, during his time of dying. He just felt too sick to receive company, and needed constant medical assistance. Visitors would disrupt that care.
Each morning when I have awakened since that time of visitation to the cloud of witnesses of Hebrews 12:1-2, I see them in my mind’s eye. They are as clear in the deepest reaches of my spirit as if I were standing before them again.
Now, I constantly wonder if my friend Howard was met by this same group of cheering, jubilant youngsters. I’m a little envious, because I suspect he was escorted, in victory-lap fashion, through that gigantic gate of pearl and into the presence of Jesus Christ. I can see that scene, and I am blessed to have that picture as I cope with my wonderful friend’s absence.
I wish I could convey the comfort and even joy that I sense knowing that Howard is in that heavenly realm. I, of course, can only try to paint that scene in word pictures.My publisher of HeavenVision: Glimpses into Glory has just informed me that they are going to offer a special 40-percent discount on the book. It is a little hardback that I believe will uplift every believer who reads it. My coauthor and editor of many years, Angie Peters, has shaped the book in inspired fashion, as I tell of my visit to somewhere in that heavenly realm. My prayer is that the reader will get at least a glimpse of what awaits those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
***HeavenVision, now –40% off!***
Icon Publishing has marked HeavenVision: Glimpses into Glory down by 40 percent for those of our Rapture Ready visitors and family. I hope this generous offer puts the book in the reach of everyone who wants to get a biblical glimpse of what awaits those who love the Lord and wonders what God has prepared for us in that life that will never end...
To order, click here: HeavenVision: Glimpses into Glory by Terry James with Angie Peters.
-- Terry
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