It’s Friday, March 20th, A.D. 2020. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Adam McManus
The Worldview talked with Samaritan’s Purse doctor in Italy
Samaritan’s Purse is joining the ranks of those helping to relieve the burden of the COVID-19 virus in Italy, one of the hardest hit countries in the world, reports ChristianHeadlines.com. Tomorrow morning, a field hospital will be set up in Cremona, Italy, 50 miles outside of Milan where there will be 68 beds for patients.
The Worldview spoke to Dr. Elliot Tenpenny, who is heading up the effort.
TENPENNY: “The people of Italy right now are actually being affected the worst in the world. Yesterday, I saw over 475 deaths in one day from this virus and 1,000 new cases. Their healthcare system has outstripped its capacity right now, and they’re struggling. So, when people are in the ditch of life and struggling, whether it be an individual or a country, we like to be able to bring our capacity to bear to help bless them and help share the good news of Jesus with them.”
Isaiah 1:17 says, “Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.”
You can give to Samaritan’s Purse outreach in Italy here.
(Look at the coronavirus sick map.)
New Zealand Parliament legalizes abortions up to birth
New Zealand will allow unborn babies to be aborted up to birth after a radical pro-abortion law passed Parliament on Wednesday, reports LifeNews.com. Disturbingly, some of the politicians even clapped and cheered after the bill passed Wednesday, according to the New Zealand Herald.
Members of Parliament voted 68-51 in favor of the legislation and sent it to the Governor-General for Royal Assent for final approval, reports 10 Daily.
Throughout the debate, pro-life and moderate politicians proposed a number of amendments to protect babies who survive abortions from infanticide, stop discriminatory sex-selection abortions, and protect women from coerced abortions. Tragically, none passed.
In warning the Israelites against sacrificing their children in the altar fires of the idol Molech, God says in Leviticus 18:21, “’You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.”
Doctors may have found COVID-19 cure
A common drug used to treat malaria might be the cure to COVID-19 until a vaccine is developed, reports Forbes.com.
Doctors in Australia, France and elsewhere say they’ve had success treating coronavirus patients with hydroxychloroquine, a readily available drug that treats malaria, lupus and arthritis.
A French study with a small sample size showed it to be 100 percent effective! In Australia, a University of Queensland study that used the anti-malaria drug in combination with an anti-HIV drug also was highly effective.
California Governor asks Trump to send hospital ship to L.A.
Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a letter to the Trump administration that 25.5 million Californians is projected to be infected with the coronavirus over an eight-week period, reports TheHill.com.
Newsom asked President Trump to deploy the USNS Mercy hospital ship to the port of Los Angeles until September of this year “to help decompress our current healthcare delivery system in the Los Angeles region in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.”
Florida pastor refused to cancel church services
Despite restrictions on large gatherings because of the coronavirus, Florida Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne refuses to close his Tampa-based church, The River, reports ChristianHeadlines.com.
Newsweek reports that on Sunday, Howard-Browne encouraged his congregants to greet one another at the service despite social distancing.
HOWARD-BROWNE: “Turn around and greet two, three people. Tell them you love them, Jesus loves them. Listen, this has to be the safest place. … If you cannot be safe in church, you in serious trouble.”
Howard-Browne later asserted that he had no intention of closing his church, the New York Post reports.
HOWARD-BROWNE: “We are not stopping anything. I’ve got news for you, this church will never close. The only time the church will close is when the Rapture has taken place.”
Earthquake knocks trumpet from Mormon temple statue’s hand
A 5.7-magnitude earthquake shook Utah Wednesday morning shortly after 7 a.m., dislodging the trumpet from the hand of the statue of the angel Moroni sitting atop the iconic Mormon temple in its capital city, reports CNN.
According to the false Mormon teaching, the angel Moroni assisted the false prophet, Joseph Smith, in the translation of imagined golden plates that ultimately resulted in the non-inspired Book of Mormon.
Max Lucado: Choose faith over fear
Pastor Max Lucado is encouraging Christians to choose faith over fear and consider what God might be telling them as the novel coronavirus continues to spread, reports the Christian Post.
LUCADO: “The world is not at peace and I do not know when we have endured such a week as the one we have just endured, and are still enduring. So much bad news. So much sobering news everywhere we turn.
“And for that reason, I want to call your attention to a verse. Philippians chapter four, a passage that many of us turn to in times of anxiety and stress. ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.’” (Philippians 4:13)
Lucado also said, “The Bible tells us that times have been bizarre before. You open your Bible and you read about pestilence, fears, dark times. The Bible is written for times like this.
“I think this a time where we need to be feeding our faith. If you feed our faith, your fears will starve. If you feed your fears, your faith will starve.”
Lucado pointed to 2nd Corinthians 10:5 in which the Apostle Paul exhorts believers to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
The Christian author suggested that when we read a bad headline, we should pray: “I know it seems things are getting worse, but Lord, you are in control, and I’m not going to surrender to that. I give my fear to you. … Things are tough, but I believe in a good God and He’s on the throne.’”
Starting on Sunday, March 22nd, Lucado is offering a free, five-week online Bible study based on his book, Anxious for Nothing, concluding on April 25.
LUCADO: “We can ask God, ‘What are you saying to us? And what do we need to be hearing during this season?’
Lucado explained that it’s not easy to serve others in light of social distancing recommendations, “but we can text and call people, drop gifts off for someone, we can get creative, especially with the vulnerable.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Friday, March 20th in the year of our Lord 2020. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus (adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.