Friday, July 1st, in the year of our Lord 2016
By Kevin Swanson
Christians around the world are sometimes persecuted by the mob, sometimes by the government, and sometimes by a collusion of both. Christians in India have been attacked by Hindu extremists, and now the police are threatening to fine the Christians for being the subjects of the attacks. According to Christian News, a group of 25 Christians were told to worship the god Ram or be burned to death. The Christians refused, and were tied up, beaten, and hung upside down.
I’m reminded of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who refused to bow down to the false god of their day. The three young men said to the king in Daniel 3:17,18: “If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
They would not bend, they would not bow. . . and they would not burn.
The Iraqis and Americans participated in an airstrike from Tuesday through Wednesday that killed over 200 ISIS fighters and over 100 army vehicles. The massive blow to the Islamic State comes after they were defeated in Fallujah, Iraq, one of their major strongholds.
Another terror attack in Afghanistan resulted in at least 40 deaths, mostly police officials. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
The latest Fox Poll puts Hillary Clinton ahead of Donald Trump by six points. Other polls have Clinton’s lead in the double digits.
The United Methodists continue to tolerate homosexual clergy by inaction, according to a report from Christian Headlines. The New York Annual Conference has ordained or commissioned at least four open homosexuals. And two more jurisdictions are considering three more open homosexuals for the office of bishop. The Western and North Central jurisdictions appear to be most eager to accept homosexual leadership, while the South Georgia conference has taken a position against it for now.
5,000 Christians gathered in Olympia, Washington on Wednesday to pray at the Capitol. All part of Franklin Graham’s Decision America tour. Graham reiterated that Christians need to vote for the person who represents biblical values, and that our trust should not be in the presidential candidates, but in God Almighty.
Proverbs 1:16 says, “Their feet run to shed innocent blood.” This time, those feet belong to the head of the largest abortion chain in the U.K. Ann Furedi told the Daily Mail that abortion is killing, but she’s okay with it. In her opinion, “Abortion may be an act of killing – but it kills a being that has no sense of life or death.”
In a rare win for Christian liberty, a federal district court upheld the right of Child Evangelism Fellowship of Ohio to access school facilities after hours for their Good News club meetings. Attorney Richard Mast, from Liberty Council, called the win a major victory for equal access. “In this instance we saw unequal fees being charged to a Christian organisation; $69.50 per hour, and a waiver of those same facilities’ use fees for all other groups, and even comparable groups, like the Boy Scouts. The Supreme Court has said that you cannot be biased against Christianity, whether it’s in suppressing speech, or in charging unequal fees, in this instance.” Child Evangelism Fellowship sponsors 43,000 Good News Clubs worldwide.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is telling over 300,000 Honda and Acura owners to stop driving their cars for now. The caution comes after tests revealed that these particular Takata airbags are likely to fragment and kill a passenger.
At least one dairy farmer in Maryland is getting money back from the Internal Revenue Service, after the federal bureaucracy confiscated $63,000 of the farm’s bank account. Randy Sowers was accused of structuring after making several bank cash deposits of something less than $10,000 from sales he made at farmers’ markets. After four years of legal battles, Sowers is finally getting a full refund from the IRS.
God’s law applies to the IRS as well. . .“Thou shalt not steal.”
By God’s special providence, 41-year-old Stacey Kozel, from Medina, Ohio, is looking to accomplish an amazing feat. She’s going to hike the Appalachian trail by herself, but there’s one catch. Stacey is paralyzed. Computer-generated leg supports have enabled her to hike 905 miles since March 24th. She hopes to be at the halfway point by Independence Day, on July 4th.
Christian Headlines reports that James Dobson is now unsure that Trump is a Christian. Dobson revealed that the person who led Trump to Christ was Paula White, a popular prosperity gospel preacher.
And that’s the World View in Five Minutes.