Tuesday, April 5th, in the year of our Lord, 2016.
By Kevin Swanson
The Lord’s work will continue with the Wycliffe Bible translators after the killings of four of their workers in the Middle East. Wycliffe Associates President Bruce Smith told Fox News, “Even when tragedy strikes, as in this case, the testimony of Christ is loud and clear. Yes, there is a tremendous cost. But as Tertullian, an early Church father, said—the blood of martyrs are the seeds of the church.”
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal’s recent veto of the Pastor Protection Act has sparked concern from pastors and other faith-based organizations in that state. Pastor Garland Hunt of The Father’s House in Norcross, Georgia, is hoping that the legislature will override the governor’s veto: “We challenge our legislature that they will possibly call a special session to override the veto, and we also know that . . . it looks as though they don’t have the votes there. They don’t really have the intentions to do it either. Also, they’re already involved with their campaigns, as it’s a campaign year. So it doesn’t seem as though they have the inclination to do it. But beyond that, we’re certainly going to be fighting for our religious freedom consistently.”
The Home School Legal Defense Association has sued a Missouri judge for “improper intimidation and retaliation against any parent who withdraws a child from public school to lawfully homeschool.” After the Swearengin family withdrew their child from a public school to homeschool, they received a notice requiring them to appear before a truancy court.
Here’s more good news for the Ted Cruz campaign. At least 18 out of 25 delegates in North Dakota will support the senator at the Republican National Convention, according to the Cruz campaign. Something similar happened in Colorado when Cruz won all of the presidential delegates from two out of seven of the congressional conventions held over the weekend. The rest will be chosen later this week. Wisconsin’s 42 delegates are up for grabs in today’s primary, where Trump is still lagging behind Cruz in the polls.
“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33).
”The wicked only flourish for a little while.” By God’s providence, Syrian and allied forces from Russia have freed another Christian town from ISIS oppression over the weekend. The armies closed in on the city of al Qaryatain on Sunday.
Over 100 migrant children have come up missing from a refugee camp in Calais, France. The concern is that these children are at risk for abuse or exploitation. Ben Bano of Help Refugees U.K. tells us that their organization seeks to find these kids and reunite them with their families: “We are pushing for a process whereby the French and the British authorities will cooperate in identifying these children and getting them to their loved ones, who are often in the U.K.”
The United Nations is considering more promotion of sex education for very young children at its UN Commission on the Status of Women, in an effort to further secularize and sexualize Third World nations. The UN agency UNICEF has published a manual that promotes bestiality and sex with non-consenting persons, according to Family Watch International.
“The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel” (Proverbs 12:10).
Conservatives from rural areas lost an important Supreme Court battle yesterday affecting future elections. Counties with high voting percentages (in rural areas) will no longer be able to apportion more influence based on their high level of participation in elections. Essentially, the decision further empowers the blue, liberal welfare cities over the red, rural districts.
3.2 million homeowners are still underwater on their mortgages, meaning that the house is valued less than the mortgage balance. The conditions have improved since the last recession, but still well above historical norms, according to CNBC.
“The debtor is always a slave to the lender.”
The national Airline Quality Rating has been released for 2015, and Virgin America, JetBlue, Delta, and Hawaiian came out on top with the least complaints. At the bottom were American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and Spirit Airlines (for things like on-time performance, mishandled bags, and customer complaints). Researchers from Wichita State University told CNN that complaints were overall the highest they’ve been in 15 years.
Two faith films are going strong in the box office. Miracles from Heaven held strong at #5 last weekend, and God’s Not Dead II took fourth place, grossing over $8 million in its first weekend. The battle for religious liberties is introduced in this second episode of God’s Not Dead, and a Christian pastor is arrested. The Christian film genre is still expanding. Five of the top ten all-time, highest-grossing Christian films have been released in the last two years.
After a tragic Amtrak crash in Chester, Pennsylvania, that killed two construction workers, sources indicate that the workers were working on the wrong line. Around 37 people were treated for minor injuries.
A U.S. Navy ship has intercepted an Iranian arms shipment headed for Yemen. The shipment amounted to thousands of weapons, AK-47s, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers for Houthi rebels fighting the Saudi army.