Friday, January 18th, in the year of our Lord 2019
By Jonathan Clark
Coptic Christians in Egypt Celebrate in Church Built by Government
Coptic Christians in Egypt celebrated the birth of Christ last week on January 7th, the traditional time that Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas.
The celebrations saw the inauguration of the Nativity of the Christ Cathedral, the largest church in the Middle East, commissioned by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as part of a new capital being built outside of Cairo.
However, Coptic Christians also faced persecution during their Christmas celebrations from Islamic extremists. Police responded by shutting down four churches in different Upper Egypt villages.
Norway’s Prime Minister: “Norway Needs More Children!”
Birth rates in Nordic countries like Norway, Finland, and Iceland are falling to record lows between 1.49 and 1.71 children born per woman, reports AFP.
In her New Year’s speech, Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg warned of the birth implosion, saying, “Norway needs more children!”
Across Nordic countries, there are fewer large families, and women are delaying childbearing in the face of financial uncertainty and rising housing costs.
French Economic Indicator Looking Poor
The French-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD saw their composite leading indicator drop to 99.3 points back in November, the lowest point since October 2012.
This comes as global growth has slowed recently, signaling potential recession in the world economy in 2019.
Over the last 50 years, the U.S. has experienced recessions almost every time the OECD composite leading indicator fell below 99.3, reports Reuters.
Christian Dishwasher Fired by Hotel for Refusing to Work Sundays Awarded $21 Million
Marie Jean Pierre, a Christian woman, mother of six, and a dishwasher at Conrad Hotel in Miami, Florida, was awarded $21 million in damages after suing the hotel in federal court for trying to force her to work on Sundays against her religious beliefs.
The hotel accommodated Pierre’s request not to work on Sunday for years until 2016 when she was ordered to work on Sunday.
Pierre told NBC, “I love God. No, I can’t [work on] Sunday because Sunday, I honor God.”
God said in 1 Samuel 2:30, “Those who honor Me I will honor.”
Colorado March for Life Calls for Abolition of Abortion
Colorado Right to Life is holding a March for Abolition this Saturday in Denver to celebrate human life and call for the complete end of abortion.
The World View spoke to Bob Enyart, spokesperson for Colorado Right to Life, about their mission.
ENYART: “The greatest injustice of our day is the killing of unborn children, innocent children. And we need to protect every child by love and by law. So Colorado Right to Life is determined to teach and to lead the way not to regulate abortion, to say how when or where you can kill an unborn child, but to abolish abortion.”
As the country’s first Right to Life organization, Enyart said they are calling pro-lifers away from abortion regulation laws that actually allow certain abortions. Instead, Colorado Right to Life seeks to end all abortion.
ENYART: “There are dozens of regulations like this throughout America and what has happened is the pro-life movement has lost its way . . . You don’t try to regulate the killing of the innocent, you fight to stop it.”
Blasphemous DC Comics Novel: Jesus Gets Counsel from Sun-Man
DC Comics is coming out with a graphic novel called “Second Coming” which depicts Jesus returning to earth to learn how to be a “true Messiah” from a Superman-like character called Sun-Man.
Christian comic publisher Art Ayris told The Christian Post the DC comic was a “blasphemous joke” by “dissing the deity of Jesus Christ and his monumental sacrifice for our sins.”
2 Peter 1:16 says, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”
Sneak Peek: Christian Foster Care Program Faces Loss of Funding
A South Carolina foster care program is facing loss of funding under an Obama-era policy for standing by their Christian beliefs. Stay tuned for a World View Special Report following today’s newscast.
Ohio Governor Sworn into Office on Stack of 9 Bibles
And finally, on Monday, Mike DeWine was sworn in as Ohio’s 70th governor on nine family Bibles, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
DeWine’s son, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine, administered the oath of office while his wife held the family Bibles. Mike and his wife Fran have eight children and 23 grandchildren.
DeWine is known for his opposition to homosexual marriage and abortion.
2 Samuel 23:3 says, “He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.”
Close
And that’s The World View in 5 Minutes on this Friday, January 18th in the year of our Lord 2019. 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: SC Foster Care Ministry Insists on Christian Foster Parents
Time now for a World View Special Report by Emily Swanson. I’m Adam McManus.
A South Carolina Christian ministry that provides opportunities for Christian families to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ through foster care is standing firm by their convictions. They will only place the foster children with Christian families. If the government insists that they place the kids with those who have not trusted Christ, they will lose their federal grant money.
Miracle Hill Ministry’s mission is to ensure “that homeless children and adults receive food and shelter with compassion, hear the Good News of Jesus Christ, and move toward healthy relationships and stability.”
The World View spoke to Reid Lehman, President and CEO of Miracle Hill Ministries, about the many ways in which they serve the state of South Carolina.
Lehman: “We are a large evangelical Christian ministry with multiple services including homeless shelters, addiction recovery, children’s homes, and 200 foster families caring for children in their homes. Our foster parent program has been operational since 1988. And since that time we’ve recruited Christians to provide foster care for children in their homes.”
Lehman said that they did it for a long time without government funding until a few years ago.
LEHMAN: “We did it for most of the time without government support, but four years ago, because the need is South Carolina was so great, and we were out of resources, we said, ‘If you could help with a little bit of our operating costs, we could recruit more families.’”
He said that last January they were told that unless they changed their policy of only recruiting Christian families for the foster program, they would lose their license.
LEHMAN: “This has been argued that this is about funding, but no, it’s really about licensing. Can we exist? If we lose funding, we can continue serving, just on a smaller scale, but if we lose our license, we can’t exist.”
Lehman said that even when families who aren’t Christians come to them, they do their best to connect them with an agency that would qualify them for foster care.
LEHMAN: “South Carolina is 1,000 families short. We welcome anyone who’s qualified to become a foster parent. In fact, when people who are not Christians contact us, we do our very best to connect them with an agency that can work with them to license them as quickly as possible. Because we have not only no objection to families being foster parents, we think it’s a wonderful idea.”
He said that this still means that they are committed to upholding Christ Jesus as the center of their ministry.
LEHMAN: “We are concerned though, and we are committed that we are community of Christ followers, following Christ together by providing services to adults and children in need. And so, as part of our identity, we are working with our Christian families. That’s not a judgment or any kind of dislike of people who are not Christians. It’s just that that’s the group we feel called to and specialize in working with and have done so for 30 years.”
John 12:26 says, “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
Lehman’s motivation is the compassion of Christ who ministered healing. Matthew 11:5 says, “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
LEHMAN: “Our mission is that homeless children would receive food and shelter with compassion, hear the good news of Jesus Christ, and really develop relationships with stability. We are not a social service organization with Christian roots; we’re a Christian ministry sharing the good news of Jesus Christ that also provides humanity and social services.”
He said that being told they can’t honor Jesus Christ as the center of their ministry means they can’t serve at all.
LEHMAN: “We are clear that if we can’t share the good news of Jesus Christ with the people we serve, we cannot exist. That is integral to who we are. Now, having said that, we eagerly welcome and serve all religions or no religions at all. We don’t force anyone to adopt our religion as a condition in service; it’s just that we want the opportunity to share the Good News.”
Lehman said that if Christian ministries are told they cannot share the gospel, they will cease to exist.
LEHMAN: “If Miracle Hill and other organizations cannot remain true to their religious backgrounds, many of us will go out of existence, and Miracle Hill will go out of existence. The sharing of our faith, the sharing of the love of God is so integral to who we are. If we aren’t allowed to do that in any area, we will not serve in that area.”
He said that the huge difference Christ makes in a foster care organization is undeniable.
LEHMAN: “The easy answer is transformed lives. And we see those transformed lives in the lives of those who serve as well as those who are served. We know that the people that come into our care have suffered trauma and are broken in many ways. We believe that understanding and experiencing the love of God is so central to their healing. And if they choose to accept the gospel message that we bear, we believe that it will provide strong foundations to build their future life upon.”
Matthew 7:24-25 says, “Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”
Lehman testified that God uses the ministry in the lives of the volunteers as well.
LEHMAN: “Many come believing that they are here to help others and find out that the change that occurs in them is more profound than they ever imagined.”
He said that the good news is they are protected at a state level from losing their license.
LEHMAN: “The governor has issued a letter saying that our religious beliefs should not be infringed upon. The state legislature has to provide for our family department social services to receive their budget month this year. They said that they had to protect the religious freedoms of agencies that are religious and of course, not just Christian, but any organizations that are religious. And at the federal level there is no pressure from Washington for anything different.”
Lehman said they are still waiting on a federal letter that was requested by Governor McMaster that would clarify their freedoms.
Here at The World View, we want to encourage our brothers and sisters at Miracle Hill Ministries with the words from 1 Corinthians 15:58 which says, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Pray that Miracle Hill’s religious freedoms would be honored and that they could continue this ministry of Jesus Christ.
This has been a World View Special Report. I’m Adam McManus.