It’s Friday, December 18th, A.D. 2020. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
Nigerian Muslim extremists killed 2,200 Christians in 2020
Nigeria’s International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law reports that Muslim extremists killed 2,200 Christians in the country just this year. Militants have slaughtered over 34,000 Christians in Nigeria since 2009.
The report accused Nigeria’s government of covering up the genocide and even supporting radical Islamists.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State is shifting its focus from the Middle East to Africa. Although deaths from terrorism are dropping worldwide, Islamic terror attacks are growing in Africa.
Hungary dramatically affirms Biblical marriage and birth gender
The Eastern European country of Hungary just amended its constitution to better support Biblical marriage.
The constitution now says that a “family is based on marriage and the parent-child relation. The mother is a woman, the father a man.” The amendments also ban homosexual couples from adopting children and restrict sex identity to birth gender.
The move represents Hungary’s attempt to protect its Christian culture from new ideological processes in the West.
Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.”
Ninth Circuit: Nevada Dem. Gov should not restrict church services
On Tuesday, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Nevada’s coronavirus restrictions that limit in-person church services.
Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak’s coronavirus order limited churches while leaving casinos and businesses relatively unrestricted.
The court based its decision on the recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of churches in New York.
VP Pence highlights Trump’s fight against abortion
On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence hosted the “Life is Winning” event, highlighting the Trump administration’s fight against abortion.
During the event, Secretary Alex Azar announced the Department of Health and Human Services will withhold $200 million in Medicaid funds from California because of the state’s violation of conscience protection laws.
The sanctions come after California forced all private insurance plans to cover abortions. Churches were not exempt.
Until California changes its policy, Secretary Azar said the department plans on withholding an additional $200 million each quarter.
Proverbs 20:26 says, “A wise king sifts out the wicked, and brings the threshing wheel over them.”
68% error rate in Michigan’s Dominion Voting System machines
Arizona’s Senate announced it will audit Dominion Voting Systems machines used in Maricopa County, the state’s most populous county.
Meanwhile, a team of forensic auditors found a Dominion Voting System used in the 2020 presidential election in Michigan’s Antrim County had a 68 percent error rate. The team concluded, “The Dominion Voting System is intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results.”
U.S. homeschoolers have doubled
The Foundation for Economic Freedom reports that the number of homeschoolers in the U.S. more than doubled this year from about two million before the pandemic to about five million now.
States are seeing surges in homeschooling while public school enrollments are dropping.
This mirrors a Gallup poll from August that found parents’ satisfaction with their children’s education dropped 10 percentage points. And the percentage of parents who said they would homeschool their children doubled to 10 percent.
Worldview Family’s Christmas caroling prompted joyful tears
And finally, in response to my Generations Radio Family Christmas Project Challenge on December 8th, I received an email from Jason and Emily Rouse in Cumberland, Iowa.
Out of the 8 ideas I suggested as a way to draw closer to one another and closer to Christ, they decided to sing Christ-centered Christmas carols to neighbors while delivering homemade treats.
Mrs. Rouse explained.
EMILY: “After listening to your podcast last week, we decided to sing some carols and deliver some homemade goodies. Every year we usually bake cinnamon rolls and deliver those. So, we decided to add a little bit of music to the delivery process. We sang ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing,’ ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem,’ ‘Silent Night,’ and ‘Joy to the World.’”
The response of the people at their doorsteps was quite touching.
EMILY: “We had one elderly gentleman who actually closed his eyes and was contemplative and he sang with us.
“In another circumstance, one of the widows, she almost didn’t want us to leave. She wanted to show us all of these things around her house, puzzles that she was working on. And I think she was just happy that someone had stopped by.
“In at least two instances, they actually started crying. They said it was the first time that they’d ever had Christmas carols sung to them before. And one woman said that now she was in the Christmas spirit because all of the musical programs around here have been canceled and a lot of churches have been canceled. So, there are no services or musical programs in the schools. Everyone was thankful. The reactions were, I thought, pretty wonderful.”
Gabriel, their 16-year-old, was moved by the Christmas Family Project.
GABRIEL: “When we went to sing Christmas carols to our neighbors, it made me realize that there’s a lot of people who are lonely. They didn’t want us to leave. When we started singing, there was a widow she, she cried. There’s some other people who had tears in their eyes. It really touched them. It touched me too, because it made me realize how lonely people are and how much they need encouragement.”
15-year-old Lydia, who helped to make the cinnamon rolls with 13-year-old Elizabeth, revealed the secret ingredient to their goodness.
LYDIA: “When we made cinnamon rolls for the neighbors, we add almond extract. And that makes it really good.”
11-year-old William offered his thoughts.
WILLIAM: “When we sang the Christmas carols and bought the cinnamon rolls to them, that made them really happy and joyful. I was surprised whenever they started crying.
Mrs. Rouse was especially appreciative of the emphasis on servanthood.
EMILY: “It took the focus off of ourselves and the busyness of being home and preparing for Christmas, and just helps us to think about the people that may not have a lot of family around and may be lonely this Christmas.
“When we delivered the cinnamon rolls. I put a Christmas card in there with them with this verse from Romans 15:13. ‘Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.’
“I know that the kids, they were very happy to bring joy and goodies to our neighbors and some of the widows in the church.”
No doubt the cuteness factor of 9-year-old Charlie Rouse was part of that joy.
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Friday, December 18th, 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.