GOD HAS & WILL JUDGE NATIONS THAT DIVIDE ISRAEL’S LAND

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Israel and Israel’s Land as a Means for Blessing the Earth

If one considers the Abrahamic covenant as a whole we do see a relationship of the covenant to land.

First, Israel was promised a particular land with certain dimensions (Gen. 12:6-7; 13:14-17; 15:18-21) as part of the Abrahamic covenant. “For all the land which you see, I give to you and your descendants forever. (Gen. 13:14-15) Fulfilment of the land promise is even reaffirmed hundreds of years later during times of national apostasy:

‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers ( Jer. 16:15).

Second, both Israel and Israel’s land will be used by God to bless all people groups of the world, not just with salvation but blessings to the whole earth (Gen. 12:2-3; 22:17-18; Isa. 2:2-4; Ps. 72:18-19;  Zech. 9:10). As Israel is blessed, ultimately through the Messiah, blessings will spill over to other nations and their lands. Isaiah 27:6 states: “In the days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will blossom and sprout, and they will fill the whole world with fruit.” Thus, Israel and Israel’s land function as microcosms of what God will do for all nations and their lands. As God blesses Israel, blessings will come to other nations (Isa. 19:15-25).

So it is theologically true that planet earth and the nations of the earth will be blessed. But it is through the means of Israel and Israel’s Messiah that this will occur. God has determined that particular blessings to Israel are the means for bringing blessings to the nations. The particular (Israel and Israel’s land) is the means for universal blessings (Gentile nations and their lands). This is a “both/and scenario,” not an “either or.”  The complete fulfilment of these universal land blessings awaits Israel’s salvation and the second coming of Jesus and His kingdom (Rom. 11:12, 15, 26-27; Matt. 19:28).

In the Scriptures, God specifically warns us that in the last days, He will judge the nations for dividing up His land. This is what Joel 3:1-2 says in the Modern English Version.

“In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgement with them there regarding My people and My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land.”

Those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those that curse Israel will be cursed.

LAST WEEK THIS SCRIPTURAL PROPHECY WAS FULFILLED IN JERUSALEM

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Last week Jews celebrated “Jerusalem Day,” commemorating the recapture of Jerusalem in 1967. The name “Jerusalem Day” is taken from Psalm 137:7.

Israelis celebrate as they hold the Israeli flag during a parade marking Jerusalem Day, the day in the Jewish calendar when Israel captured East Jerusalem and the Old City from Jordan during the 1967 Middle East War, as they enter Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, May 24, 2017. (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)

Article from Revive Israel: “Hanoch Maoz shared his story with us. He was in the squad that blew up the closed Zion’s Gate as the troops entered the Old City to the Western Wall. Seeing the supernatural protection on his life with bullets flying, fellow-soldiers dying and bombs exploding, was part of what brought him to faith.

Hanoch mentioned that after the War, he noticed how the following verse had been literally fulfilled in his life. “Our feet shall stand within your gates, O Jerusalem” (Ps. 122:2). We told him, “Yeah, it just didn’t say you’d have to blow up the gate on the way.”

Jerusalem Day is a fulfilment of God’s promises to King David 3,000 years ago; and a fulfilment of Yeshua’s prophecy 2,000 years ago, that Jerusalem would be trampled by the Gentiles “until the time of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). If God would be faithful to fulfil these promises after 2,000 to 3,000 years and seemingly impossible situations, we can be sure all the rest of the prophecies will be fulfilled as well.”

ANOTHER AWESOME MESSAGE FROM JONATHAN CAHN

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Are you in a church that understands where we are on the Biblical timeline? Is it preaching Jesus second coming and the prophetic events surrounding His return?

Is it it compromising with the world and its values (e.g. gay marriage) or is it standing on God’s Word.

Listen to Jonathan and be encouraged that current world events demonstrate that God is in control down to the day, hour and even minute.

God has put you on the planet at this time in history for a purpose, are you in step with Him? If not get into prayer with like minded believers. Don’t waste another minute.

https://youtu.be/5eZDqBOup3k

AMERICA IS ON THE VERGE OF A BREAKDOWN

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Report by Bill Bonner, author of New York Times best-sellers (Empire of Debt, Financial Reckoning Day, Mobs, Markets and Messiahs) and now his latest book (When The ATMS Go Dark).

A meeting with Greenspan (centre), myself, Bill Bonner (left from centre), and other experts at my office

In Baltimore, the stadium loudspeakers sounded again: “Ladies and gentleman, due to an ongoing public safety issue, the mayor of Baltimore and the Baltimore County Police Department have asked all fans to remain inside the ballpark until further notice.”

Then silence… Except for a distant white noise… the sound of an enraged mob tearing through stores, police, and bystanders…just outside the stadium walls.

Something had gone terribly wrong in the city that night…

Image result for picture of riots on the streets of Baltimore

By that time, the cell networks had started to go down.

In New York City, a man wearing a red Make America Great Again hat was choked on the subway as fellow passengers did nothing to help.

In Chicago, a 50-year-old man was dragged from his car and beaten. Instead of helping, onlookers accused him of voting for the wrong political candidate.

In Washington, a young woman who showed up to support the new president had her hair set on fire by “black bloc” radical leftist protesters.

In Berkeley, California, a Patriots Day rally turned into a battle for the streets between black-clad anarchists and a right-wing militia group.

A website by the anarchist group “black bloc” (the same ones who smashed windows, threw Molotov cocktails at police, and set Berkeley on fire) asks for donations to “send reports to uprisings and rebellions in so-called North America.”

Another “resistance movement” lists 5,983 local cells spread across the country – and they’re not just confined to the coasts, either, as you can see… The red dots are for upcoming “actions”, the blue dots are locations of the cells.

Now, we’ve had unrest before in this country. Many times.

During Holy Week 1968, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., set off riots across the country.

In 1991, the Rodney King riots resulted in 1 billion dollars’ worth of damage, 50 deaths, and a vicious attack on an innocent truck driver.

But this is different. There is an anger brewing here. One I have never seen in my lifetime.

In Middlebury College, VT: A visiting scholar is attacked by a mob of students after a left-wing think tank incorrectly labels him a “white nationalist.” (A charge that turned out not to be true.) When a professor tries to intervene, the students turn on him. “I feared for my life,” the professor later says, still wearing a neck brace and nursing a concussion. “They couldn’t look at me directly, because if they had, they would have seen another human being.”

We have protesters caught on camera saying: “people have to die”…

Meanwhile, protected elites like Maxine Waters and Chelsea Clinton, safe in their million-dollar homes, egg the crowds on…

As of writing this, I count at least seven mass political actions scheduled in the next few months alone. Which of these will explode into a riot, I don’t know. Hopefully none will.

But a recent conversation among members of an extreme resistance group on the social media site Reddit shows an alarming trend…

Here’s a sampling of what they said:

  • “I honestly think we need a campaign to get more [of us] armed.”
  • “A shocking number of comrades went in there with absolutely no combat training.”
  • “We need more than flags and bats. […] I know getting firearms in states and cities we have a presence is usually a hassle, but even handguns would help.”

Is it any wonder then, that these same groups are setting universities on fire, while students who refuse to go along with the crowd are threatened with violence?

And it’s not just happening in “dangerous” cities like Baltimore and Chicago. Violent crime is now rising in places like Denver, Salt Lake City, and Louisville. In the small town of Tiburon, California, a 74-year-old conservative radio host and his 12-year-old dog were assaulted and knocked to the ground while out grabbing a bite to eat. In Ohio, another 74-year-old man was murdered live on Facebook, as he walked home from Easter lunch, young kids are putting police officers in the hospital. People are broadcasting racist attacks and murders live on Facebook.

And here’s the thing…

I think what we’re seeing here is merely Act One

As the magazine Foreign Policy recently explained:

“There appears to be…a sense that these are not just scattered outbursts, that all this is escalating somewhere.”

What it’s all escalating to…the magazine’s editors aren’t so sure.

In this report, I’m going to tell you what’s really causing this unrest…

…and why it’s leading to a disturbing conclusion…sooner than anyone expected.

  • I see nearly half the population paying no taxes and dependent on aid from the federal government,
  • I see more Americans are dying of drug overdoses than ever before and suicides just hit a 30-year high.
  • I see a majority of Americans favouring wealth redistribution and higher taxes…which is probably why a Congress full of Republicans is unwilling to guard the rest of us against these things.
  • And I see the increasingly vocal and even violent opposition to traditional American values in our streets.

Sadly, Bonner like John Adams has got it wrong by thinking that the root cause is economic mismanagement alone.

John Adams said at the Constitutional Convention of 1787:

“All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise not from defects in the Constitution or Confederation, not from a want of honour or virtue so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation.”

Universities espousing a godless worldview, based on a totally false evolutionary theory of origins, has produced a younger generation that has no fear of their Creator God, nor respect for His values.

If there is no purpose or meaning in life, then what else would you expect but a ME generation of self centred, self serving young people prepared to do whatever it take to wrest control from the previous largely corrupt generation that has racked up debt that is unsustainable by providing services that cannot be maintained. This is the recipe for disaster that we see being played out. Moreover, this “end times” scenario is prophesied in the Bible, the book our Creator provided for us.

As I have pointed out in two recent posts, the reestablishment of the State of Israel back in 1948 (and its miraculous ( Six day War) retaking control of Jerusalem in 1967) is the first and major sign Jesus gave of His second coming, His return to earth at the place He left it, a little over two thousand years ago.

The Bible provides more prophecies of His second coming than His first. All of those were fulfilled, so you can be sure those of His second coming will be as well. Are you prepared for His second coming? Is your church prepared for His second coming? The Bible tells us there will be a great falling away in the “last days”. Even the elect deceived. As persecution intensifies, and it will if you take a stand against abortion,  gay marriage and transgender issues, will you stand firm. Sadly, much of the church has already given up on Biblical inerrancy particularly on issues such as Creation, adopting evolution, homosexuality, gay marriage and the related issues of God given roles for male and females in the family and church.

IN THE LAST DAYS MANY WILL COME TO CHRIST

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Most of us are familiar with the story of the 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt who held fast to their faith and were beheaded by ISIS in February, 2015. But did you know that only 20 of them were actually Copts from Egypt? Did you know that one of the martyrs was from Chad, and he had not been a Christian prior to the day of his beheading?

All 21 men had been working in Libya when they were kidnapped by ISIS. But as can be seen in pictures where they are lined up on the beach to be killed, one of them had darker skin and different facial features. This was the man from Chad.

The Coptic Christians were given a choice to deny Jesus or die. They refused to deny Him, knowing it would cost them their heads.

When the terrorists ordered the man from Chad to deny Jesus or die, he answered, “Their God is my God,” thereby sealing his fate.

That’s how moved he was by the faith of these Christians. Their refusal to deny their Saviour, even at the point of death—literally, at the point of a knife to their throats—moved him to make a profession of faith, one that would cost him his head as well. Can we grasp the intensity of this story?

The man had not been a believer. All he had to say was, “I don’t believe in Jesus” or “Jesus is not the Son of God,” and he could walk away a free man.

He would be with his family again. He would not die a brutal death. He would live to see another day.

How many Christians would be sorely tempted under such circumstances? How many would waver and, for that moment, deny their Lord, just to avoid beheading?

Yet this man, who had not been a follower of Jesus before then, was so moved by the dedication of these Christians that he became a believer on the spot.

“Go ahead and behead me,” he was saying. “Your god is not my God. Their God is my God.”

That is the power of the gospel, and that is how we overcome Satan, by not loving our lives to the point of death (Rev. 12:11).

That is why this story needs to be told and retold until the faith of those martyrs becomes our faith, until people look at our lives and say, “Your God is my God, whatever may come my way.”

And here’s something striking. As I have listened this week to the stories of persecuted Christians, even hearing from family members of martyrs, I have not heard a word of self-pity. Not a word.

I have heard words of courage and dedication. I have heard words of great love for Jesus. I have heard requests for prayer and help. But I have not heard any self-pity.

The daughter of an Iranian pastor martyred 20 years ago spoke of her own life experience and of her father’s refusal to back down. Now, 20 years after her father was buried in an unmarked grave, she could speak of multiplied hundreds of thousands of Iranian Muslims coming to faith in Jesus. Her father’s blood was not shed in vain.

That is how a seed planted in the ground first dies and then produces much fruit (John 12:24-25).

A Syrian Christian leader shared how a radical Islamic group offered to arm them to fight against another radical Islamic faction. He replied, “We already have two arms: love and forgiveness. We don’t want to become another militia.”

That is how we overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21). Some Christians even said to ISIS, “Thank you for helping to unite us!”

Yet it would be wrong to think of these suffering believers as super saints, which is another lesson for us all.

Most of them are just ordinary Christians, not preachers or pastors and certainly not big-name evangelists. They are mothers and fathers, young people and old people, laborers and housewives, educated and uneducated. Yet they have remained faithful under hellish pressure, enduring unspeakable suffering.

Yet rather than curse God, they bless Him, and rather than retaliate against their enemies with hatred and vengeance, they offer forgiveness and love.

Earlier this year, a couple told me about their trip to Ethiopia where they met with family members of the Ethiopian Christians beheaded by ISIS. They spoke with the widow of one of the martyrs, who was pregnant when he was killed, making his death even more painful.

But when they talked with this young woman, rather than bemoan her terrible loss, she said to them, “How is it that I had the privilege of being married to a martyr for Jesus?” She was an uneducated woman with no social status, and she was humbled beyond words that she was chosen to be the wife of a martyr.

This is why radical Islam will ultimately fall before the name of Jesus, and why every other force that seeks to wipe out the church will fail in the end. It’s also why we should stop feeling sorry for ourselves when things get a little rough. Are we not also more than conquerors through Him who loved us? (See Rom. 8:37)

Extract from article by Dr Michael Brown in Charisma News

MORE BIBLICAL END TIMES PROPHECIES UNFOLDING IN OUR TIME

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NFOLDING
Are we seeing a revival of the fourth kingdom (“Great image of a Man consisting of four sections) as outlined in Daniel 2 and Daniel 7. I agree with Joel Richardson, and other end times commentators, that the fourth kingdom was the Ottoman Empire initiated AD 632, shortly after the death of Muhammad, as an Islamic Caliphate which later became the Ottoman Empire and officially ended in 1923.

As Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, continues to consolidate power in the formerly secular nation, one of the foremost experts on Middle East geopolitics is sounding a desperate warning. Erdogan is just getting started. “I’ve been saying this for 12 years,” said Joel Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of “The Islamic Antichrist” and “Mideast Beast.” “I’ve said for years: ‘Watch Turkey. Watch Turkey. It’s going to become a radical nationalist Islamist nation.’”

Richardson, who has closely followed Middle East politics in his effort to spread the Gospel in the region and who chronicled rising Turkish nationalism in his film “End Times Eyewitness,” sees a deeper pattern unfolding as Erdogan continues his rise: something embedded within the pages of Scripture. He argues Turkey and Iran are on a path to conflict, and it will be Turkey that will eventually lead a coalition of Islamic nations against Israel.

“I believe Turkey is going to lead this coming Antichrist coalition,” he said.

“The Turks want to revive the empire that ruled the Middle East for 500 years. And I believe that in the midst of that, the Saudis, who are in league with the United States, are going to be a tremendous roadblock to Turkey re-establishing the historical caliphate, the Islamic form of government. And it’s for that reason that I think eventually we’ll see Turkey, and all the nations that come under her sway, eventually turn on Saudi Arabia, and as the prophecy says, devour her and burn her body with fire.”

Also relevant Turkey’s vote: The real end-time headline by Jake McCandless

“The silence of the world’s great democracies as the Middle East’s one great democracy slips toward authoritarianism has been deafening for Turks,” wrote Elliot Ackerman in Foreign Policy. Steven Cook suggested in the same publication Erdogan’s recent election victory means the end of modern Turkey itself, as Erdogan derives more inspiration from the Ottoman Empire than the secular, democratic values of Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.

The Bible tells us a number of events will take place just prior to the return of Jesus. Generations of Christians lived and died without witnessing one of these signs. Many of these events have taken place and the current events in the Middle East are prophecy unfolding in our time.

Will our generation be a witness to them all? Those prophecies already fulfilled:
Israel Back in the Land – God promised to bring the Jewish people back into the land of Israel before He returned (Jeremiah 23:7-8). He said He would call them from “among the nations” (Ezekiel 39:28), from “the farthest corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12), and from “north, south, east, and west” (Psalm 107:3).
 He promised to welcome them home from the lands where they were scattered (Ezekiel 20:34). When they did, He promised to return and establish His everlasting kingdom (Isaiah 11:11-12).
The Jews Back in Jerusalem – Jesus said armies would surround Jerusalem, destroy the city, and enslaves its citizens. This happened in A.D. 70 when the Roman legions did exactly that.
 Jesus then said people other than the Jews would control Jerusalem for a time, then the Jewish people would once again control Jerusalem. When they did, Jesus promised to return (Luke 21:24-28). Since 1967, the Jewish people have been in possession of Jerusalem and will be celebrating their 50 year reunification this June.
The Gospel Preached Throughout the World – When asked about the end of the age and the signs of His coming, Jesus said to look for a very specific sign.
He said the gospel will be preached throughout the entire world. Every nation will hear it. And then? And then, the end will come (Matthew 24:14). For centuries after the crucifixion, the gospel was confined to a small area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.
 In the past two centuries, Christians have brought the gospel to every nation in the world. Today, missionaries are in every nation.
The Bible is translated in hundreds of languages, and the message of Jesus is sent around the world by radio, TV, satellite, and the Internet. Our generation is literally on the verge of spreading the gospel to every last person on earth.
An Increase in Travel and Knowledge – Six hundred years before Jesus, an angel gave Daniel a special message. He said “travel and knowledge” will increase in the end times (Daniel 12:4). For centuries of human history, dramatic gains in travel and knowledge did NOT take place.
Yet the last two hundred years have seen explosions in the speed and frequency of travel as well as the amount and availability of knowledge.
Arrival of the Exponential Curve – Jesus said a variety of global signs will come before His return and the end of the age. These signs will be spiritual, natural, societal, and political in nature. And He said they would appear in a distinct way – “like birth pains” (Matthew 24:3-8).
 This means the frequency and intensity of these signs will increase as we near His return. Our generation has seen the exponential increase in earthquakes, war and famine Jesus said to look for.
In the 20th Century alone, more people died from war and famine than lived on the earth when Jesus spoke these words.
Israel Surrounded by Enemies – The Bible says enemies will surround Israel in the end times. Those enemies will say “Come, let us wipe away the nation of Israel. Let’s destroy the memory of its existence” (Psalm 83:4) and “Let us take for ourselves these pastureland’s of God” (Psalm 83:12).
Ezekiel said Israel’s neighbours will say “God has given their land to us” (Ezekiel 11:14-17),  and “Israel and Judah are ours. We will take possession of them. What do we care if their God is there?” (Ezekiel 35:10).
 Ever since the rebirth of Israel in 1948, the daily headlines have included these Bible verses. Israel’s Muslim neighbours claim the land of Israel for themselves, and they have no regard for the God of Israel.
 Israel’s Exceedingly Great Army – Ezekiel said, in the end times, Israel will field “an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:10). Zechariah said Israel will be like a fire among sheaves of grain, burning up the neighbouring nations (Zechariah 12:6) and even the weakest Israeli soldier will be like David (Zechariah 12:8).
Since 1948, Israel has fought no less than four conventional wars against its neighbours. Despite being outnumbered more than 50 to 1, Israel has achieved overwhelming victory every time.
Denial of the Signs – Almost two thousand years ago, Peter issued a warning. He said in the last days people will mock the idea of Jesus returning.
They will make fun of those who believe in the Second Coming and say exactly what we hear today – things like, “I thought Jesus was coming back?
What happened to His promise? Generation after generation has said He’s coming. Yet, since the beginning of the world, everything has remained the same!” (2 Peter 3:34).
Conclusion
 Despite the naysayers, Jesus is coming, and the signs indicate that ours is the generation that will witness His return.
The convergence of all these signs confirm it. Jesus Himself said to look for these signs, and when you see them, He said you can know His return is near. He’s right at the door (Matthew 24:33).
 In fact, He said the generation witnessing these signs will not pass away before He returns (Matthew 24:34).
Jesus warned us not to be caught sleeping when He returns (Mark 13:36). He commanded us to watch.
 Today, the signs of His return are all around us. Jesus is coming, and it can’t be said enough… Now is the season of His return.

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com

WAKE UP CHURCH – END TIMES PERSECUTION UPON US

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JESUS gave His disciples, and us, plenty of signs of His second coming and they are unfolding now just as prophesied. The mainline church in the west is asleep, also as prophesied “as in the days of Noah, they were eating and drinking etc.”? What is your church preoccupied with at the moment? Is it with the latest building programme, or paying off the debt from the last building programme? Is your pastor preaching about the coming judgement and the lost souls in your street? Is he preparing you for the coming persecution?

Franklin Graham is aware and doing his best to alert the church. Take a look at the following video.

Franklin Graham: It’s Barbaric, Evil and Time for Us to Get up and Do something.

Christians await Jesus Christ, Muslims await the Mahdi

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Stunning research suggest the Mahdi and the Antichrist may actually be the same. 

  • Mahdi brings a seven year peace treaty.
  • Antichrist brings a seven year peace treaty.
  • Mahdi will rule from the Temple Mount.
  • Antichrist will rule from the Temple Mount
  • Mahdi honours Allah, a god of war and advances his cause through war.
  • Antichrist honours a god of fortresses (war) and advances his cause through war.
  • Mahdi demands a badge on the forehead.
  • Antichrist demands a mark on the forehead or back of the hand.
  • The Mahdi does not honour women’s rights
  • The Antichrist does not honour women’s rights.
  • The Mahdi honours Allah with gold and silver.
  • The Antichrist honours his god with gold and silver.
  • The Mahdi will change times and laws.
  • The Antichrist will change set times and laws.

Listen to Joel Richardson interview leading Muslim scholars. What they reveal about the goal of Islam, will forever change your mind, if you believed it to be a religion of peace.

https://youtu.be/8Flglm5x3LU

 

 

Lutheran, Episcopal and United Church of Christ Clergy: “We Stand With Planned Parenthood” Abortion Biz

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A group of female clergy from Iowa wrote a letter this week to publicly state their support of the abortion chain Planned Parenthood. Surely, this is another indicator we are in the “last days”. A great falling away by the church is prophesied, and we are seeing it happening at an exponential rate. They are preaching a doctrine of demons.

 unitedmethodistchurch5

The letter, published in the Des Moines Register on Wednesday, included signatures from seven women pastors from the United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Episcopal Church, Unitarian Universalist Association, Christian Church (Disciple of Christ) and Unity Church. A note included with the letter said the pastors were not speaking on behalf of their denominations or congregations.

The pastors praised Planned Parenthood’s work and blasted a state bill that would defund the abortion group and redirect tax dollars to community health centres that don’t provide abortions.

“As clergy and as women, we oppose any action by the Iowa Legislature to restrict a woman’s ability to make her own health care and reproductive decisions or to access health care services,” they wrote. “Additionally, we support Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the excellent care it provides for any woman who chooses its health care services.”

These women pastors would be aware that Planned Parenthood admitted to making money from selling the body parts of aborted children. Therefore, we have seven women pastors of mainline denominations who obviously have no concern for God’s laws, nor believe His Word, nor fear Him.

I am more convinced than ever that Born Again Christians cannot stay in any denominational church that appoints and supports pastors that do not take a stand on the inerrancy of Scripture. Where does your church stand on Key issues such as creation versus evolution and therefore the authority of Genesis 1-11.  This is where the foundations are laid for the important doctrines of the Church: The Fall, Sin, Marriage, Judgement of the World at The Flood of Noah, formation of the Nations through confusion of languages at Babel, and finally God established His Nation, Israel.

In February, the Iowa Senate passed Senate File 2 to defund Planned Parenthood and other abortion groups in the state. The legislation would direct taxpayer funding to federally qualified health centres that provide more comprehensive health care but not abortions. The bill currently is being considered in the state House.

In their letter, the pastors described the bill as “dangerous” and “extreme” legislation that “threatens access to basic health care for low-income women.”

They also claimed that legislators’ opposition to abortion is purely religious. They wrote:

All arguments against a woman’s reproductive choices are based in morality and religious beliefs, using those religious beliefs to change the law and infringe upon the rights of women. Through our faiths, we are joining together to balance those arguments and to assure legislators that the religious community does not speak with one voice.

We are deeply committed to social justice, which includes caring for the poor and oppressed. Defunding and shutting down Planned Parenthood would hurt those struggling to get by and those who already face many barriers in accessing health care.

As clergy and as women, we know that women are well equipped to make their own health care decisions. We also believe that this bill is a matter of legislating inequality and will deny low-income women access to quality family planning services.

Their letter makes a number of assumptions that are not true, one being that the pro-life position is entirely a religious one. While Christians make up a large part of the movement, there also are quite a few secular pro-lifers.

Also, no mention is made of the rights of the child who by God is considered a person from conception.

Data also does not back up their claim that women will lose access to health care if Planned Parenthood is defunded.

As previously reported, supporters of Senate File 2 contend that Iowa “women will have access to 221 clinics statewide that will expand coverage to rural women who must now make long drives to urban areas for family planning services.”

Women can find much more comprehensive health care at community health clinics. The non-abortion services that Planned Parenthood provides are very limited. For example, Planned Parenthoods do not provide mammograms and very few provide prenatal care; and those that provide ultrasounds appear to do so only for abortion purposes.

Data from the abortion group’s own reports show a growing focus on abortions and a continuous decrease in its non-abortion services. From 2009 to 2014, “cancer screenings” dropped from 1,830,811 to just 682,208. “Breast exams/breast care” fell by more than half, from 830,312 in 2009 to 363,803 in 2014 and Pap smear tests dropped nearly two-thirds, from 904,820 to 271,539. In that same time period, Planned Parenthood’s abortion numbers remained steady, hovering around 320,000 per year.

Iowa is one of a number of states that are moving to defund the abortion group.

Last week, Republicans in U.S. Congress released the American Health Care Act. Their plan to repeal Obamacare includes provisions that would revoke funding for Planned Parenthood. A provision in the bill prohibits states from using “direct spending” on “prohibited entities” with federal funds allocated from the legislation; and those entities include any entity that “provides for abortions.” That means the nation’s biggest abortion corporation — Planned Parenthood.

President Donald Trump recently offered Planned Parenthood a deal that would have allowed it to keep receiving tax money if it stopped doing abortions. Planned Parenthood refused.

HOW DO YOU INTEND TO LIVE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

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Obviously the decision is yours to make, but as we are living in the “last days”, ETERNITY and where you spend it hangs in the balance. This article by Fulton Sheen, which I received at the end of 2014, should challenge you, as it did me then and NOW.

The Decision is Yours (12/24/2014) Fulton Sheen

Like the rain washes away the dust and the dirt and replenishes and purifies the rivers, the streams and waters in the earth for all living things to continue to live and flourish, so My Spirit waits for those to enter, that I may do the same to the hearts and spirits which have freely yielded to Me. It is a decision and act and every decision and act has consequences. What will you do today, how will you live the moments which have been given to you? Will you yield; will you live the day I have set aside for you? Will you follow the path I have laid for you to walk or will you find your own way? This choice, this decision is yours to make every day and every morning, for every day is a new beginning. The consequences of that choice and decision will determine whether you go deeper into My plans and purposes, you stop short or you regress.

For those that regress and choose another path, they will drink of the consequences of that decision. They will step out of the walled city which they had previously chosen to inhabit and are now on their own. They have made themselves subject to the world and have rejected My will and replaced it with their own and they rejected My plans, My purposes and My protection. They have chosen their own path. In these days and the days to come, retracing ones steps and taking back ground will become more difficult and the consequences greater.

For those who stop short, you will continue to walk in the revelation and grace you had been given up to that point, but the former revelation and grace will not be sufficient. It will be harder and harder to stand your ground without fresh revelation and grace. You will be like a stagnant pond, no longer connected to the river which once replenished, purified and allowed it to expand. In time you will become polluted with things which can only grow in water deprived of cleansing and eventually dries up and disappears.

But for those who daily choose the path I have laid out for them, for those who have chosen My will, My plans and purposes over their own, they will not be disappointed. They will receive fresh revelation, fresh grace for the day and they will move forward and the enemy will not have his way with them. I will renew their strength, I will give them wisdom, insight and direction they need for the day and for the days to come. The consequences of this choice will be peace, joy and rest in the midst of the battle. They will have eyes to see, their ears will hear and their mind will understand what My Spirit is saying. Like the sons of Issachar they will understand the times and they will know what to do.

THE DECISION IS YOURS?