It’s Wednesday, March 16th, A.D. 2022. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)

By Jonathan Clark

Chinese Communists released two Christian leaders

Communist Chinese officials released two house church teachers this month.

Han Yanlei and Xie Zhifeng of Jordan River Learning Center spent nine months in prison for alleged “illegal business operations.” The two Christians report experiencing God’s presence during their imprisonment.

The authorities arrested two other Christians last year from the same learning center who are still in prison. The government also shut down Mount Carmel Church, at that time, which was affiliated with the learning center.

1,834 Ukrainian casualties

An estimated three million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded the country last month. As of yesterday, the United Nations estimates 1,834 civilian casualties in the country, including 691 killed and 1,143 injured.

Churches in Hungary and Romania are stepping up to help those in need.

Tudor Petan, founder of AlfaOmega TV in Romania, told Evangelical Focus, “Almost all our churches are involved in welcoming refugees. . . . Christian people also took refugees into their homes, hotels, guesthouses for free, feed them and take care of them for as long as it is needed.”

Matthew 25:40 says, “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

America authorized $200 million in defense spending for Ukraine

The United States authorized $200 million in defense funding for Ukraine on Saturday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “I have immediately authorized today, pursuant to a delegation by the President, a fourth Presidential Drawdown of up to $200 million for additional military assistance for Ukraine’s defense.”

This brings the total U.S. military assistance to Ukraine since January, 2021 to $1.2 billion.

Pastors facing backlash for supporting Christian counseling for homosexuals

Pastors in England are facing backlash for opposing a proposed ban on so-called conversion therapy. The proposal would outlaw the ability for Christian counselors or pastors from helping someone who wants to resist the temptation to be intimate with the same gender.

Over 2,500 pastors signed a letter criticizing the proposed ban.  It said, “We see in these proposals a clear possibility that our duty as ministers, of proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and calling people to find life in Him, which includes living by His laws, will be criminalized.”

Graham Nicholls, a pastor and coauthor of the letter, said signers have faced hostile responses. He said people “are worried that service providers or landlords might not want to do business with them. Many of us are being accused of being abusers or at the least, apologists for abuse, which, although untrue, is deeply distressing.”

Matthew 5:11-12 says, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Texas Supreme Court upheld Heartbeat pro-life Law

On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court  unanimously upheld the state’s heartbeat abortion ban.

The law prohibits abortions on babies with detectible heartbeats, typically around six weeks of pregnancy. The law also allows private citizens to enforce the law by suing abortionists.

After the law went into effect last September in the Lone Star state, abortions fell by 50%.

24% of Americans say living in sin is bad for society

Pew Research reports 47% of Americans now say that single women raising children on their own is bad for society, up from 40% in 2018.

Also, 24% of U.S. adults say that couples living in sin is bad for society, up five points from three years ago.

And Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say single women raising children and cohabitation are bad for society.

Christians twice as likely to have “flourishing” relationships

And finally, a new report by Barna found that practicing Christians were more than twice as likely to report having flourishing relationships than the general U.S. population.

Sixty-one percent of practicing Christians said they have flourishing relationships while only 28% of U.S. adults also said so.

Psalm 92:12-13 says, “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.”

Close

And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, March 16th, in the year of our Lord 2022. 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.