It’s Tuesday, April 14th, A.D. 2020. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Kevin Swanson
19 people die in Mississippi-area tornadoes
God, in His providence, has sent the first Enhanced Fujita Scale 5 tornadoes to America in four years and the most destructive in nine years. Nineteen people died in some 34 separate twisters that hit Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Georgia on Sunday. Mississippi reports at least a dozen fatalities from what appears to be two EF-5 tornadoes.
Jeremiah 23:19-20 says, “Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury— a violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days, you will understand it perfectly.”
Famine and locusts threaten African people
Our troubles in the western countries are minuscule compared to the challenges facing Africa. Famine is threatening Africa at the highest levels in many years. The nations most threatened by starvation now include Niger, Mali, and Zimbabwe, according to the World Food Programme 2020 report.
Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Myanmar are also reaching critical stress levels. Locust infestations in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia — the worst in 25 years — are also adding to the food shortages. And South Africa is facing the worst drought in 35 years.
Christians in Niger, Africa are starving
The country of Niger is the poorest of the nations most likely to be impacted by Africa’s famines, and perhaps the most needy at this point in the world.
Stay tuned for a Worldview Special Report immediately following today’s newscast about how you can help 1,707 starving Christians in Niger immediately.
Proverbs 19:17 says, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.”
Nigerian pastor, 10-year-old boy shot & killed by Muslims
Morning Star News reports that an evangelical pastor and three of his congregation, including a 10-year-old boy, were shot and killed by Muslim Fulani Herdsmen in Plateau State’s Bassa County, Nigeria last Tuesday evening.
Matthew Tagwai was the 34-year-old pastor of the Evangelical Church Winning All congregation.
President Trump cites “our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ”
In a special address on Good Friday, President Donald Trump affirmed its spiritual significance from the Oval Office.
TRUMP: “Christians from all around the world remember the suffering and death upon the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. At Easter Sunday, we will celebrate His glorious resurrection.
“Almost 3,000 years ago, the prophet Isaiah wrote these words, ‘Darkness covers the earth, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light.’”
Then on Resurrection Sunday, President Trump reminded the nation that “the light of Christ will always triumph over the trials and tribulations we face because He has defeated death.”
Matthew 28:6 proclaims, “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.”
Franklin Graham preaches Gospel message from Central Park
Fox News broadcast a Gospel message via Franklin Graham on Easter Sunday from Central Park, New York.
GRAHAM: “The Bible says that all of us have sinned. And we’ve all come short of God’s standard, His glory. And the Bible goes on to tell us that the penalty, the penalty for sin is death. So, what hope do we have? We’re sinners. We’re guilty.
“God had a plan. He sent His Son Jesus Christ out of Heaven to this earth on a rescue mission to save us. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He didn’t come into this world to condemn. He came to save. He came by offering His life as a sacrifice for sin. He became a sacrifice to God for the sins of mankind. And Jesus Christ took our sins — your sins, my sins. He went to the cross and on the cross, he shed His blood for the sins of mankind.”
JP Morgan: Likely 40% slip in Gross Domestic Product
JP Morgan is forecasting a 40% slip in the Gross Domestic Product in the second quarter. That’s 10 times the largest GDP drop in 70 years. The last big drop was only 4%, occurring in second quarter of 2009.
Chief economist for Moody’s Analytics called this “an economic tsunami.” Mark Zandi told Vox, “We’re about to see dizzying decline in economic activity. There’s no analogue to it in the modern era.”
Some states more tyrannical than others over COVID guidelines
Some states enforcing stay-at-home orders have been identified as more tyrannical than others.
Fox News pointed out Kentucky and Mississippi are particularly strong against churchgoers, and Florida and New Jersey are using drones to identify unlawful gatherings of people.
Also, Liberty Counsel has released a story of the pastor of Lighthouse Fellowship in Virginia who was served a summons for holding a service with 16 people in a sanctuary that holds 300.
And last week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, threatened “permanently” closing churches that did not comply with orders not to assemble.
Thankfully, Attorney General William Barr told Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham that “a free society depends on a vibrant religious life among the people. Anytime that’s encroached upon by the government, I’m very concerned.”
U.S. COVID-19 spread has flattened over last 10 days
The curve representing new cases of COVID-19 in America has flattened for 10 days now, reports WorldoMeters.
Also, the first state hit with the virus, Washington State, has seen a decrease in the death rate from 26 people on March 25th to an average of 4 people a day for the last 10 days.
Thus far, the world has seen 116,000 deaths from this coronavirus over the last three months. The U.S. has sustained 22,000 of those deaths.
At the same time, 160,000 died of heart disease, 150,000 of cancer, 20,000 of influenza, 20,000 of diabetes, 40,000 of accidents, 40,000 of lower respiratory diseases, 35,000 of cerebrovascular diseases, and 12,000 by suicide None of these other death rates are monitored by the major news sources.
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Tuesday, April 14th 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.
Special Report: 1,707 Christians in Niger, Africa need food
Time now for a Worldview Special Report by the newlywed Emily Munday. I’m Adam McManus.
By Emily Munday
Our brothers and sisters in Niger, Africa have been especially hard hit by the COVID-19 crisis and a recent bad harvest.
Pastor Jim Kimbriel of Harvest Bible Church in Elizabeth, Colorado explained to The Worldview how Christians in Niger are struggling.
KIMBRIEL: “Their crops were meager this year, and so Christians now there are starving. They have one meal a day if it’s a good day. They’re in the capital of Nemae, and they said to the pastor there; the only way they found out about this, they said, ‘Well we’ve heard some Christians here are starving. And the pastor broke down, he said, ‘Yeah.’ He has a wife who is 7 months pregnant, and he hasn’t received a salary since last November because of the drought. And many people that have worked in companies have lost their jobs. And so they don’t even have money to buy what little food is there.”
Kimbriel said that his church in Colorado is setting up a fund for those in need.
KIMBRIEL: “My friends said, ‘Hey do you think people back in the States could set up a fund, and people could give to it? Can you figure out a way that there would be no money taken out of it and that it would go right to the people, and they said, ‘We’ve figure out a way. There’s 1,707 believers that we have names for that are active members in churches, and these include widows and orphans, and we will make sure that they get their 23 cents a day, they will get food, they will get at least one meal a day. I’m sitting here with the coronavirus, and I’ve got a full pantry stocked with food. I think I could feed our whole church out of my pantry.”
Because the border between Nigeria and Niger has been shut down, pastor Kimbriel said it has caused food prices to rise.
KIMBRIEL: “For 23 cents a day, for 1,707, it’s around $309/day to keep our brothers and sisters alive in Niger. You know the problem is they shut down the borders between there and Nigeria, and Nigeria has a lot of food. And so the food prices were low until they shut down the borders. So, if you get them to the next harvest, October, it’s going to take about $83,000 dollars. They said, ‘We don’t know where that money’s going to come from. Jim could you just start this fund?” And then you called and asked if we could talk about it, and I’m like, ‘The Lord’s going to do this.”
Pray that our Lord who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and MORE would provide abundantly for these brothers and sisters in Christ.
Pastor Kimbriel shared how you can help.
KIMBRIEL: “The giving online they can go to Harvest Bible Church of Elizabeth, Colorado. Google that. That will get you to our website, and you can give online there. And you would just need to email us and say, ‘This is for Niger.’ Or you can send it to ‘Harvest Bible Church, P.O. Box 1598, Elizabeth, CO 80107.’
Kimbriel reminded us of James 1:27 which says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
To donate, go to their website at www.go-harvest.org.
You can also contact The Colorado church helping the Christians in Niger through a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.
You’ve been listening to another Worldview Special Report. I’m Adam McManus.