House of Representatives Pass Tax Reform Bill, Sexual Assaults Increase in Military, Special Report: Transform “Black Friday” to “Bless Friday”

Friday, November 17th, in the year of our Lord 2017

By Jonathan Clark

Thousands of Nigerian Christians Killed by Muslim Fulani Herdsmen Since 2014

A report from persecution watchdog groups including Open Doors International has labeled the ongoing killings of Christians in Nigeria, Africa by Muslim Fulani herdsmen as “ethnic cleansing.”

Attacks on Christians include gang rapes of girls, torture of boys, and shootings the murder of of entire families. Last month, the Muslim Fulani carried out a mass killing of 48 Christians.

Between 2014 and 2016, the report found 4,194 Christians were killed and 2,957 were injured. 30 churches were also destroyed or damaged. 

Pray for the peace of God that surpasses understanding to strengthen these believers.

President of Zimbabwe at a Stand-Off with the Country’s Military

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule, characterized by major economic depression and violent repressions, experienced a huge setback on Wednesday when the country’s military seized control of state institutions. 

President Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state at 97, came to power in 1987 after ousting a white minority government.

Reuters reports a political source said the situation is at a stand-off between Mugabe and the military, which is demanding the president finish his term.

Daniel 2:21 says, “[God] changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”

President Trump Has Appointed Eight Appellate Judges So Far

Before coming to office, Donald Trump held meetings with conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation and The Federalist Society about a strategic plan to reshape the judiciary.

At this point, President Trump has appointed eight appellate judges, the most this far in a presidency since Richard Nixon. The New York Times reports Republican judges with life tenure are systematically filling appellate seats they kept open in the final two years of the Obama administration.

Not to mention President Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court who was confirmed by the Senate.

The 12 regional appeals courts possess significant power, ruling in about 80,000 cases that do not make it to the Supreme Court.

House of Representatives Passes Republican House Plan

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Republican tax plan yesterday.

The plan will consolidate four brackets from 12 percent to 39.6 percent, double the standard deductions for individual and joint filing, eliminate most itemized deductions, and lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. 

Unlike the Senate bill, the House version keeps the Obamacare individual insurance mandate.

House Bill Keeps Adoption Tax Credit and Acknowledges Unborn Children

Good news on the Pro-Life front! The Republican House bill does keep the adoption tax credit. 

It also acknowledges unborn children as human beings from conception, according to Life News. The bill says, “Nothing shall prevent an unborn child from being treated as a designated beneficiary” for a 529 College Savings Plan. 

It defines an unborn child as a “child in utero” which “means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.”

Congress Introduces Legislation to Increase Prosecution of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces

The Defense Department estimates there were over 70,000 sexual assaults in the U.S. armed forces last year against 8,600 women and 6,300 men, most of whom were attacked multiple times, reports Fox News.

That’s up from 19,000 sexual assaults reported in 2010.

Congress introduced legislation yesterday to increase prosecution of such cases because many are ignored.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, “Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”

Special Report on Turning “Black Friday” into “Bless Friday” After the Newscast

It’s time to turn “Black Friday” into “Bless Friday”.  

Learn about how you can kick off the Christmas season with service rather than shopping in my World View Special Report immediately following today’s newscast.

Police in Sweetwater, Tennessee Stop Man from Sharing the Gospel

And finally, a Tennessee grandfather named Paul Johnson went to share the Gospel in the city of Sweetwater, but police stopped him because of an ordinance banning public expression without a permit. 

First Liberty sent a letter to the city on behalf of Johnson, saying the law is unconstitutional, according to CBN News.

Johnson said, “All I want to do is tell people about the love of Jesus by reading my Bible.”

Unlike the city of Sweetwater, the prophet Isaiah declared in Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news . . . who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”

Closing Line

And that’s The World View in 5 Minutes on this Friday, November 17th in the year of our Lord 2017. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldView.com. I’m Adam McManus. Seize the day for Jesus Christ. 

Special Report: Kick Off the Christmas Season with Service Rather than Shopping

Time now for a World View Special Report. I’m Adam McManus

By Adam McManus

After you express your gratitude to God for His goodness and for His many blessings around the Thanksgiving table, doesn’t it feel anti-climactic to obsess over shopping at the mall the next day?

I talked to Chuck Fox, founder of “Bless Friday”.

“In 2009, I heard a powerful sermon by our pastor that asked the question, ‘Are we really focusing on Christmas? Are we really focusing on Christ? Or are we being dissuaded and following the culture and focusing on buying things and what shows up under the tree’. You know, I had to agree and that’s when I decided to found ‘Bless Friday’ so that we could change the day after Thanksgiving — Black Friday, a day of shopping, to Bless Friday, a day of service.”

Fox recommended some simple strategies about your potential day of service.

“What we ask on Bless Friday is for churches and Christian organizations to schedule something that honors Christ. Sending congregants to local homeless shelters or packing rice and beans for food pantries. It’s not too late to do something to honor Christ at Christmas. It just takes a few people to get together and decide to honor Christ. It can be as simple as cleaning up a park in your community or cleaning up your church grounds.”

Or, join me and my family and volunteer to ring the bell in front of a Salvation Army red kettle at a WalMart or sign up through Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree to purchase a gift for a child of a prisoner which you can deliver to the child on behalf of the imprisoned parent.

Fox explained to The World View that Bless Friday can change you and your children.

“I think the main thing is we begin our Christmas celebration with service because that changes the way we experience the season. It can be especially transformative for children and shifts their focus from receiving presents to serving others.”

Chuck Fox explained how his family’s volunteer service has been a bright spot in their Christmas season for the past several years.

“In the past few years, my family and I have volunteered at Vital Living, a home for mentally challenged adults. It’s a wonderful place. What we do is help prepare their home for Christmas. It’s just wonderful to work with them and then play games. It brightens their lives. Sometimes families don’t see them so much anymore. It’s very gratifying to work with these men and women.

“I remember last year – and this was the third year we had come to Vital Living – we received a hug from one of the clients who remembered us. It meant a lot to us that we seem to mean a lot to them.”

Visit the website www.BlessFriday.org and learn ways you can get plugged in.

1 John 3:17 asks, “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?”

This has been a World View Special Report. I’m Adam McManus.

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