Young Israel's Reaction to Pat Oliphant Cartoon

From Young Israel:


"YOUNG ISRAEL MOVEMENT CONDEMNS ANTI-SEMITIC CARTOON

The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) today strongly condemned an anti-Semitic cartoon that appeared in newspapers throughout the United States. The syndicated cartoon, which was drawn by political cartoonist Pat Oliphant, portrays an image of a headless sword-bearing, goose-stepping person who is pushing a Jewish Star with fangs. The headless figure is chasing a woman holding a child with the word "Gaza" emblazoned on her cloak.

"This highly offensive anti-Semitic and anti-Israel cartoon crosses all boundaries of basic human decency," said NCYI President Shlomo Z. Mostofsky. "By conjuring up Nazi imagery and portraying Israel as a ruthless aggressor who relishes terrorizing innocent civilians, this cartoon perpetuates the dissemination of dangerous propaganda that incites further hatred."

"Mr. Oliphant has deliberately skewed the facts, revised history, and turned a blind eye to the fact that Israel has repeatedly been forced to protect its citizenry from acts of terrorism and martyrdom that have tragically claimed the lives of innocent men, women, and children," added Mostofsky. "Mr. Oliphant's twisted sense of artistic expression is quite repugnant and leaves a lot to be desired."

The National Council of Young Israel called on Mr. Oliphant and Universal Press Syndicate, the entity that distributes Mr. Oliphant's cartoons, to issue public apologies for the distasteful nature of the cartoon. In addition, the National Council of Young Israel urged the media outlets that carry Oliphant's cartoons to remove this particular cartoon from their web sites."

Medals for Jesus

Just got my new copy of "Voice of the Martyrs" yesterday. And while I don't normally scan and post articles from it, I felt it appropriate. I'll let it apply to your life as the Lord leads.

I've been out of work for the better part of five months. I might have a peer-level interview at a local hospital in a week or so but even if that happens, there is of course no guarantee of a job. Meantime, I've got one "employer" who "isn't able" to give me hours. And, you know, you start to feel sorry for yourself.

Then you get a reminder of just how well we really have it here.

I'd recommend you give this article a read. And let it be much food for thought.

Hamas War Report #1

Got a link to this via email from Jerusalem Prayer Team. Watch and be informed. And, if you have the time, go to the YouTube site and leave a comment expressing your support for Israel as they are ridiculed for desiring to protect themselves from Islamic terrorism.

....To Die Is Gain....

Warning! Not for the faint of heart!

...to die is GAIN! - Philippians 1:21 from Pastor Goose on Vimeo.

"Persecution or a Great Awakening" - Paul Washer

What Now?

From Mike Ratliff at Possessing the Treasure:

"I have been in a state of mourning since the Democratic Primaries came down to only two candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama. I had little confidence in any of the Republican contenders after Ron Paul dropped out. I was not sure for a while what really triggered this mourning. It was as I realized that this coincided very dramatically with the drastic decline in the Christian worldview in our time that God has taken His hand of protection away from this country. Judgment is coming.

A careful reading of the book of Judges in the Old Testament makes it clear that it is God who raises up and takes down leaders. God uses evil or unrighteous judges and leaders to bring His righteous judgment to bear on a people. With the victory of Barak Obama yesterday all of the dread about what would happen to this country if an ultra-liberal came to power seems about to become reality. Count on it that this man will appoint unrighteous Supreme Court justices. He will lubricate things so that liberal legislation will become law like the Freedom of Choice Act. Preaching or teaching God’s moral truth will be considered a hate crime.

What now? What are we to do who belong to the Lamb of God? We must remain in a state of mourning for this country. We must never stop praying for the repentance of those who are in darkness. We must pray for the salvation of Barak Obama. We must pray that God will curb the evil that is planned by him and his supporters. We must also pray for each other that we will be strong in the Lord, bold in Him, as we stand firm and trust that we are in God’s hands.

I am convinced that what is coming will cleanse the Church. What should our role be in a time like this?"

Amen, Mike.

You can read the entire article here.

On Making the Uncommon Common

I knew it was coming. Mom has been emptying out her home of all the extra things that are there since my dad died two years ago this coming November. Giving away old books of his that I remember even from childhood. I helped her take some of them to the library for donation. . .after I sorted a few out of course.

But she's also suggesting that I take home a little of this and a little of that. Things that dad owned for decades. I hated to do this because, even at my age, the items he had are kind of, well, larger than life while they are in that house that he built at age 82. It's "separate" from a kind of "commonness" and as long as I don't bring them home as "mine", the legends continue to live.

But last night I gave in. Mom said something about dad's now nearly thirty year old 35mm camera and all the lenses. And there was also the nearly 20' leather bull whip dad bought in the summer of 1965 on our drive down Route 66 to Los Angeles for the International Lion's Club convention.

I brought all that stuff home last night. And I sat there remembering dad and all the memories. The fun he had with the bull whip and how we'd all tried mastering that thing. My brother, who died 40 years ago this past March, was one of them. Dad would use it for gags when he was president of the local lions club. (You could say he was a motivator).

There is a "largeness" to "dad's stuff". It's a kind of a feeling and a reminder that "I don't think I can fill those shoes".

But what I hate and fear worse than "not being able to fill his shoes" is allowing these special things that he owned to become "common". For example, about a year ago mom gave me dad's watch. I've been wearing it since. It's not expensive. It's just an "Indiglo" watch. But it was dad's. Lately, I've noticed that it is becoming more a regular part of my life and less of the watch that I saw them remove from my dad's wrist before they gave him the morphine that helped him relax just a few hours before he left this Earth.

All those things, removed from their original context, eventually take on a "smallness". Familiarity does indeed breed contempt. What was "bigger than life" and "uncommon" can easily become routine and less valuable to us.

Now, of course you know that I don't post things just to post things. Also, I don't believe in focusing on Earthly things. And you know I don't post about my dad just to post about my dad, who is now with the Lord. So let me get from my illustration to my greater point. How often do we take the "uncommon" things of God, "bring them home", then begin to reduce them from their "otherness" to a "commonness"?

We talk about revering God's Word, but all too often there is a "commonness" to it. We talk so glibly about "our walk with the Lord" but all too often we're just filling the empty air with comfortable noise.

We preach about evangelism but rarely do it. The urgency is gone. It's become part of our domain. "Something we believe" and only once had a passion for. Pastors "preach" about reaching out to the lost but you wonder if they mean it and those in the church nod their heads in agreement and then go on to other things.

Familiarity breeds contempt. Lukewarmness sets in.

There should be an abiding "specialness" about spreading the news of the One Who died for us. We have the most wonderful, transforming news that anyone could share but are we sharing it? Or have we put it all up on a shelf with other "momentos" so we can give them an occasional nod?

My dad died on November 11th, 2006. And at one time the things he left me and were passed down to me had a very pointed "specialness" to them. But that deminishes.

But even greater than that, Jesus Christ died on cross about 2000 years ago. He was buried and raised from the dead on the third day for my justification as well as yours and showed himself to hundreds of witnesses. For those of us who know Him, He gave us His Spirit. And He has given us a commission.

Has it all become "just a common thing"? Have the things that once were the center of our lives become part of the periphery?

To be continued . . .

What're You Whining About?

Just got this from Voice of the Martyrs. We need to be praying for those who are being persecuted for their faith and praying for those who do the persecuting:

"PAKISTAN
Christians Abducted at Gunpoint by Muslim Extremists - VOM Sources

On June 21, 16 Christians were abducted by Muslim extremists when they gathered to pray in Academy Town, Peshawar, Pakistan. According to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts in Pakistan, "Salamat Masih and 30 of his family and close friends were gathered to pray and celebrate the birth of his daughter, when 12 Taliban [members] of the Lashka-e-Islam group broke into his house yelling and shouting. They held the believers at gunpoint. The Muslim house-owner, Haji Muhammad Saraj, was also present at the time to collect rent." VOM contacts added, "With machine and automatic guns, they forcibly separated the men from the women and children. Slapping the Christian men, they commanded all 16 men, including Pastor Zulifqar and Haji Muhammad Saraj, to get into the five waiting vehicles." The 16 Christian men were held captive for an hour. "They were beaten and abused, and had all their money and mobile phones stolen from them. During this time, the Taliban attempted to persuade Pastor Zulifqar to convert to Islam, which he unquestionably refused. After sunset the Taliban took them to another place where they were kept in a cave until their release 10 hours later," VOM contacts reported. Pray for believers in Pakistan. Pray God protects them and provides for all their needs. Also pray their courageous testimonies will draw nonbelievers into fellowship with Him. Psalm 91:1-2


EGYPT
Christian Homes and Businesses Attacked - VOM Sources

On June 19, a mob of local Muslims attacked businesses and homes belonging to Coptic Christians in the village of Al Nazla, Fayoum province. According to VOM contacts, "When a convert from Christianity to Islam left that day on a three-day trip to Cairo, local Muslims concluded that she had gone missing. Rumors circulated that she had been abducted by her Christian family members. A mob of Muslims then went on a rampage in the village, beating and injuring Christians and destroying property." Ask God to strengthen those affected by the mob violence and for them to remain steadfast as they suffer. Pray that the perpetrators of this attack will come to repentance and salvation. Revelation 2:10


INDONESIA
Church Closed Again - VOM Sources

Recently, Muslims closed a church and blocked Christians from entering and holding services in Jatimula, Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia. According to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts in Indonesia, "Muslims blocked the alley leading to the church building. Pastor Anna and Huta Julu had to lead worship outside their church building and believers had to sit in the dirty alley to pray outside their church." VOM contacts added, "The sign outside the church building stated, ‘This church building is sealed,’ and it was written on a letterhead belonging to the Tambun Selatan district of Bekasi local government." This is the second time Muslims have closed the church in Bekasi. The church was first closed on September 10, 2005, when a mob of 100 Muslims nailed boards over doors and windows and prohibited believers from entering the building. Praise God for the unwavering faith of believers in Indonesia. Ask God to watch over Pastor Anna and Huta Julu as they continue to lead other believers in Indonesia. Pray for protection for believers as they courageously live for Christ in the midst of hardships. John 15: 18-21


AZERBAIJAN
Pastor Arrested - Forum 18 News

On June 20, Pastor Hamid Shabanov was arrested after police claimed to find an illegal weapon while searching his home in Aliabad. According to Forum 18 News, "Pastor Shabanov's family and congregation insist that police planted the gun they claimed to discover. Shabanov's brother sees the arrest as a direct attack on the pastor's Baptist church and an attempt to halt Christian activity in the area. Shabanov's home was among those searched when another local pastor arrested on fabricated charges, Pastor Zaur Balaev, was detained in May 2007." Pray that the truth of this situation will be made known and that Pastor Shabanov will be released. Pray that Christians in Azerbaijan will be emboldened to follow in their Savior’s footsteps. 1 Corinthians 4:9-16"

Canadian "Tolerance" on Display

From Lighthouse Trails Research:

"Source: Miscellaneous News Source

LTRP Note: The following report is regarding MacGregor Ministries, whom Lighthouse Trails Research has linked to for many years.


BC, Canada: LORRI MacGREGOR, co-founder along with her husband Keith of MacGregor Ministries a Christian counter-cult apologetics organization in British Columbia, Canada, will address the theme: "CANADA GAGS THE GOSPEL." The Canadian Government will not allow any critiques of other religions. You can be any religion you want as long as you do nothing but promote your own religion. In Lorri & Keith's case, in addition to presenting the Christian religion, they were responding to attacks on Christianity.

MacGregor Ministries carefully documented these attacks and responded to them from a biblical perspective, in a respectful and even kind manner. To their knowledge, none of the groups attacking Christianity through their websites or magazines got taken to task, only MacGregor Ministries! At the same time, they present sound, biblical, Christian doctrine, which promotes the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is, of course, their purpose. They were told they had to present all religions as equal, could not be "persuasive" regarding Christianity over others, and had to get rid of their website and magazine. Their presentation of the Christian gospel through their DVD's and printed matter was ruled "uncharitable" and their careful critique of others in defense of Christian doctrine was called "hate". Since they could not compromise their faith, they had to ask that they Charity status be voluntarily revoked.Click here to read this entire report."

What Did Jesus Say?(John 15:18ff)

From "Christian News Today", an article that draws a stark contrast to the easy believe-ism in America...:

Elderly Christian Woman’s Home Set Ablaze in Bangladesh

"Set to be baptized in February, 70-year-old suffers burns on 70 percent of body.

by Aenon Shalom

DHAKA, Bangladesh, Unknown attackers tried to burn a 70-year-old woman to death on January 7 after learning that she would be baptized as a Christian next month.

Rahima Beoa, who was planning to be baptized on February 13 in Muslim-majority Rangpur district, 248 kilometers (154miles) northwest of the capital city of Dhaka, suffered burns on 70 percent of her body.

“The unknown people wanted to burn alive the elderly woman because they came to know that she would be a Christian in the next month,” said Khaled Mintu, a regional supervisor of the Rangpur district of the Isha-E-Jamat Bangladesh denomination. “It was a devilish conspiracy to stop her being a Christian.”

Beoa is the mother-in-law of Ashraful Islam, who along with his wife became a Christian two years ago. Close relatives and neighbors were said to be angry with the couple for their conversion from Islam.

The 40-year-old Islam lives in Cinatuly village, located on silty land on Bangladesh’s major Tista river, with his three children and mother-in-law.

“Generally local people become baptized going to the capital city, Dhaka, so that nobody knows anything about the new believers,” said Mintu. “Beoa is so geriatric that it was not very easy to bring her to Dhaka for baptism. Otherwise she would have been baptized long ago.”

Roads from the silty village to Dhaka are rough, and leaving the area means villagers must walk miles to catch a bus.

On the night of the attack, Islam went to the Isha-E-Jamat church with his wife and two smallest children, a service that usually takes place at night as all the villagers are day laborers or vendors. The service went late into the night as the pastor taught on baptism.

News that Beoa and others would be baptized in February was said to have reached the entire village.

While Islam’s mother-in-law and 9-year-old son were sleeping at home, the attackers set their bamboo and wood home ablaze. There were two head of cattle in one corner of the house, which was built with a mansard roof of corrugated tin.

“The boy managed to escape the fire,” Mintu said. “But the elderly woman was injured and got 70 percent burnt on her body, and the cattle and other stuff of the house were incinerated.”

No relatives or neighbors came to put out the fire, he added. A “quack doctor” treated the elderly woman’s burns in another house, he said, because the family cannot afford treatment in a hospital.

“We did not file any case in the police station against anyone, because we could not trace anyone for that arson attack,” Mintu said.

In 2006, he said, more than 7,000 local Muslims came to vandalize the houses of area Christians.

“They wanted to evict us because are Christian,” Mintu said. “With the help of the local government officials and police, we manage to live in this land against the strong opposition of the majority Muslims.”

There are 50 Christian families within two miles in that area, he said, most of them of Muslim upbringing."

The article is here.

Islamic Persecution of Christians

So, we're all happy brothers and sisters....the Muslims and Christians, huh? Well, why not? After all, we've just had a love fest between Islam and America's Pastor, Rick Warren as well as others including Bill Hybels and the President of the National Association of Evangelicals, haven't we?

I'd like a response from some of them on Islamic Persecution of Christians and just when they intend to "love us back".

Let's see. Here's some things they can work on. Click here to read about the following, they (persecution.org) have blocked linking directly to the stories via copyright. But you can read the stories through the index page as of today at least:

• Women in Basra are being horrifically killed and dumped in the trash for "non-Islamic behavior".
• Indonesian Christians are under increasing attacks.
• In Egypt, Islam is increasingly targeting Christians.
• In Canada, a muslim convert to Christianity receives a letter from his mother stating she will kill him.
• In England, Muslim "apostates" are being threatened with their lives. One woman told her parents "You said you should kill me, but I'm still your daughter, don't you realize that?"

And that is just a short list of what is going on. A google search is quite revealing...

Again I'd ask each and every one of those falsely so-called "evangelicals" how they can sign such a document as they have and turn a blind eye to the reality of this violent, false and odious religion.

Hey, Warren? On your way to desecrating the temple in the middle of the tribulation (Christianity (thesis) + Islam (antithesis) = One World Religion (synthesis)*) , can you take a moment to give a response? I mean, after all, if you are really "America's Pastor", you can take a moment to answer a question from one of your "flock", can't you?

Oh yeah, that's right. "It's not about us" or those who suffer for the name of Christ. It's about you.

Never mind.

____________
(*Thanks to "Studying God's Word" for this concise statement.)

An Open Challenge To Rick Warren

To Rick Warren:

While you are working so hard on your friendship with Islam, do you think you could talk to them about what they are doing to your brothers and sisters in Christ? The details are as follows, from "prisoneralert.com":

"In April 2007, Evangelist Daniel and more than 40 Christian leaders in Indonesia were arrested after a video recording of them praying for Muslims and the Quran was leaked to Islamic organizations. Evangelist Daniel was sentenced to five years in prison for praying, “Father we pray for the leaders of the madrassa, so their hearts would be open for gospel..."

Thank you,




Tim Brown
http://reformedgadfly.blogspot.com

For the rest of us, the remainder of the article reads as follows: "Please send a letter of encouragement and let Evangelist Daniel know you are praying for him and other believers in Indonesia. Let your friends know about suffering Christians and encourage them to pray and write too. Get involved pray and write to Evangelist Daniel today!"

Report: Christians crucified by terrorists in Iraq

Yes, you read that right. Click here for the report from WorldNetDaily. With the influx of Islam into the U.S., be ready to stand firm.

Chinese Pastor Needs Help

"Open Doors USA is urging Christians to advocate on behalf of prominent Chinese house church pastor Zhang Rongliang.

Zhang, who was arrested December 1, 2004, is currently serving a seven-and-a-half year prison term on charges of obtaining illegal travel documents and illegal border crossings. Due to consistent refusal of the Chinese government to issue documentation to top leaders in the Chinese house church networks, Zhang obtained a falsified passport in order to attend mission conferences abroad.

Of primary concern is Zhang’s health as he suffers from five chronic conditions, including severe diabetes and high blood pressure. In early 2006, while in pretrial detention, Zhang’s condition deteriorated, requiring authorities to transfer him to a hospital for emergency care. According to Chinese law, he is qualified to ask for medical parole based on his health problems, according to Compass Direct News."

More here.

Faces of Persecution

For those who think Christianity is some kind of game or "club". If you believe in a seeker-sensitive, "God Has a Wonderful Plan For Your Life" social gospel, let this video from Voice of the Martyrs sink in.

A Look At a Suburb of Hades

"Ann-in-Grace" has sent this link to Hackberry House blog. Thank you, Ann, for sending this.

The Lateness of the Hour

Watch this and consider how you would respond in a similar situation. With hate crimes legislation and other current anti-Christian trends in the U.S., I'm convinced that what we see in this video is a real possibility within the next ten years or even less.

Certainly, this shows how the Adversary is allowed to separate the wheat from the tares.

In light of a statement that someone made once that "If it doesn't preach to the persecuted church, it doesn't preach" I'd ask my seeker-sensitive and "Purpose Driven" brethren how their non-Biblical methodologies would fit in this scenario. Or is it possible that these groups aren't in danger of this due to their de-emphasis of God's Word and friendship with the world? But that is whole topic in itself.

For the rest of us, my prayer is that God will grant us grace for such a time as this, should it come.