Christian Father of Two Killed in Jharkhand State, India

HYDERABAD, India, July 3, 2020 (Morning Star News) – When Kande Munda heard a knock on his door one night last month, the Christian father of two knew it was likely the same thugs and their colleagues in his area of Jharkhand, India who had harassed him for nearly four years.

They were particularly upset that Munda had reported them to police for a 2018 assault on his mother-in-law. The assailants, followers of tribal Adivasi religion, had opposed her conversion to Christianity by labelling her Christian prayers as “witchcraft” and gang-raping her.

Munda and his family were already in bed after a hard day of work on the night of June 7 when they heard the knock on the door. Munda told his wife not to answer it.

“He was suspicious that they must have come for him,” his wife, Bindi Munda, told Morning Star News.

Three men forced the door open and entered, while four or five remained outside, she said. Darkness obscured their faces.

“One of them pointed a gun at my husband and told the other two men that they should first rape me and then kill my husband,” Munda said.

Their children, ages 1 and 3, were asleep. The armed assailants seized her husband by the neck as he knelt and pleaded with them not to kill him, she said.

“I have done nothing wrong – please don’t kill me,” he cried repeatedly, according to his wife, who picked up their children, holding one in each arm, and fled into the wilderness. She hid there briefly before running into the village screaming for someone to save her husband.

 “But by the time I had returned to our shanty with some neighbors, he was not there,” she said. “I went about half a mile on foot to a believer’s home to get their help to search for my husband."

That night Kande Munda’s youngest brother, returning to Bari village on a motorbike, found his corpse in a pool of blood under a tree by the side of the road to Latardih village. The mutilated body was barely recognizable.

“He suspected that the body was that of his brother,” the wife of the deceased told Morning Star News. “He rushed to our shanty looking for us, and as he could not find us there, he called on my husband’s phone. I picked up the phone, and he told me that there was a corpse lying by the road, and it looked like that of my husband."

Kande Munda, also known as Philip Munda, was 27.

It was the second killing of a Christian for his faith in India last month. On the night of June 4 in Odisha state, followers of tribal religion abducted 16-year-old Sambaru Madkami for his faith before stabbing and stoning him to death. In Uttar Pradesh state on May 28, villagers tried to kill pastor Dinesh Kumar in an ambush that left him unconscious.

MIXED MOTIVES

Munda and his family previously practiced their traditional, animistic religion as tribal Adivasis. After he put his faith in Christ in 2017, his wife soon converted, and when her mother came for an extended visit in 2018, she too received Christ, Bindi Munda said.

 After Adivasi villagers abducted her mother from their home, took her into the woods and gang-raped her, Kande Munda filed a police complaint, she said.

“The police investigated the matter and arrested some of the accused,” she said. “Since then, opposition against my husband and our Christian faith increased.”

Sanjay Sandil, a member of Siyon Church in the area, said the primary suspect remained at large. After police arrested some suspects, he said, one of Munda’s cousins continually harassed Munda with the help of some militant Maoist colleagues, pressuring him to withdraw the charges.

The cousin and Maoists issued an ultimatum about three months ago that Munda should drop the case or “face consequences,” Sandil said.

“Every time he would inform us about the harassment, we supported him as a church and stood by him,” Sandil told Morning Star News. “We always reached Bari village in the next couple of hours and ensured that the Maoist group did not lay hands on him or sister Bindi Munda.”

In May eight men surrounded their home, and Sandil and other Christians arrived to stand with the family, he said. Police also arrived and gave assurances that they would not let any of the accused go free, Sandil said.

The day of the attack (June 7), police had received word that the primary suspect was in Bari village and were searching for him, he said.

“They could not catch him, but in the night at around 8 p.m., the men unleashed the attack by forcefully entering his house,” Sandil said. “It is more likely that the same persons who gheraoed the house in May must have showed up at their shanty that night. Brother Philip Munda was brutally hacked to death with machetes. The marks can be seen clearly on the back of his body.”

NOBLE SOUL

On June 8, officers at the Saiko police station registered cases against the eight men under sections for kidnapping or abducting to murder (Section 364) and murder (Section 302) of the Indian Penal Code.

“The persons who abducted and murdered Kande Munda have absconded from the crime scene soon after they committed his murder,” Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Shekhar told Morning Star News. “The investigation and search for the accused are still underway. We have been able to list the names of suspects, and a few other names also had surfaced during the investigation. All the accused persons would be arrested very soon.”

Sandeep Oraon, Jharkhand legal aid coordinator for advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom India, visited Munda’s family at their new location on June 24. He assured them of legal assistance in the matter and prayed with them.

Sandil recalled Munda as a noble soul – a selfless, skilled construction and field worker who would agree to work for half the normal wage for people who could not afford to pay more.

“He was providing for his family by working very hard,” Sandil said. “Now the small children do not have a father to provide and raise them.”

Bindi Munda has relocated with her children to another village, as the killers could come after her since she witnessed the abduction of her husband, he said.

“After Brother Philip Munda’s funeral service, the church members spent some time with sister Bindi, counselling her and telling her to remain strong in faith,” Sandil said. “She shared that her husband told her that he could be killed and asked her to bring up their children in a godly manner.”

 The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on April 28 urged the U.S. State Department to add India as a “Country of Particular Concern” to its list of nations with poor records of protecting religious freedom.

India is ranked 10^th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The country was 31st in 2013, but its position has worsened since Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014.

From Drug Lord to Pastor: How a New York Man Found Freedom Behind Bars

Herman Mendoza had it all—money, success, mistresses, and a beautiful home in the Poconos. But the kingdom he had built came toppling down when he was arrested for selling drugs, forcing him to his knees where he eventually accepted Christ.

According to CBN News, Mendoza’s experience with drugs started young as a teenager with his brother. He continued experimenting for years until he lost his job in his 20s.

“I was married and living with my wife and I was laid off from a job that I was working at,” Mendoza told The PureFlix Podcast. “And so I was desperate for money.”

He partnered with his brother and the two sunk deep into the drug trade, largely selling cocaine. Soon, the money started to flow in and Mendoza felt on top of the world. He bounced around from party to party, traveling the Eastern Seaboard with his brother distributing drugs and collecting mistresses. Eventually, he had a home in the Poconos for his nuclear family and a string of apartments around the city for his mistresses.

“I thought, ‘Hey, this is an easy way to make money and get rich,’” he said.

But the high didn’t last long. Mendoza’s newfound success stopped when police discovered cocaine in the trunk of his car, marking his first arrest. He was stunned, terrified of what might happen to his wife and child while he was in prison.

He faced 25 years to life but struck a deal with prosecutors to be released early. Though the arrest shook him, his freedom didn’t change his behavior.

“I was a fool…and I went right back into what they call in the streets, ‘the game,’” he said.

It wasn’t until his second arrest after being released that changed the drug lord. As his legal struggles mounted, God was at work with his brother. He had become a Christian behind bars and encouraged Mendoza to do the same. And in time, he did.

“I gave my life to the Lord ... there was no other recourse," Mendoza said. "I said, I need to try God, I've tried everything else. ... I had millions of dollars, but it was never satisfying."

In his book, Shifting Shadows, he recalled the experience of trusting Christ as liberating.

“Suddenly, it didn’t matter anymore that I was behind bars; I was freer here than I had ever been,” he said.

After being released again, Mendoza chose a new path. As an international speaker, he travels the world to declare God’s love and serves as an associate pastor at Promise Ministries in New York.

“I was a walking dead man, and now I’m alive in Christ.”

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The Supreme Court Expands the Scope of Religious Free Exercise

(RNS) — In a closely watched case handed down Tuesday (June 30), the Supreme Court took another step in expanding the scope of religious free exercise in America. It looks as if it won’t be the last.

The case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, concerned a state program that provided scholarships for use in private schools. Because Montana’s Constitution has since statehood barred direct or indirect public subsidies of religious schools, several parents were denied the opportunity to use the scholarships to send their children to a Christian school.

The parents sued, and in due course the Montana Supreme Court threw out the entire program for failing to indicate that the scholarships could not be used in religious schools. In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court found that Montana’s no-aid constitutional provision violated the First Amendment’s free exercise clause.

With the four liberals dissenting, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court’s conservative majority. His argument turns on sharply differentiating “religious status” from “religious use,” the idea being that religious schools as a class cannot be denied public benefits but that specific kinds of religious instruction can be.

Two prior cases are critical to this distinction. In Locke v. Davey (2004), the court decided that a student in the state of Washington could not use a state scholarship to pursue a devotional theology degree. In Trinity Lutheran v. Comer (2017), the court decided that a Missouri church could apply for a state grant to resurface its outdoor playground. Roberts’ claim was that Espinoza is equivalent to Trinity Lutheran, not Locke.

The liberal justices weren’t buying and neither (despite formally joining Roberts’ opinion) was conservative Neil Gorsuch. “Not only is the record replete with discussion of activities, uses, and conduct, any jurisprudence grounded on a status-use distinction seems destined to yield more questions than answers,” wrote Gorsuch in a concurrence. “Does Montana seek to prevent religious parents and schools from participating in a public benefits program (status)? Or does the State aim to bar public benefits from being employed to support religious education (use)?”

In dissent, Stephen Breyer pointed out that in its 2012 Hosanna-Tabor decision the court for the first time recognized a ministerial exception to employment discrimination law precisely because “some teachers at religious schools see their work as a form of ministry.” If teaching is a ministry, how can having the state underwrite education in a religious school not constitute paying for religious instruction a la Locke? And if it is paying for religious instruction, wouldn’t that run afoul of the First Amendment’s establishment clause?

For Clarence Thomas, the original sin in the court’s modern religion jurisprudence came when the establishment clause — originally designed to let the states have their own religious regimes — was “incorporated” (federalized) in 1947. “Properly understood, the Establishment Clause does not prohibit States from favoring religion,” Thomas wrote in a concurrence of his own.

According to him, under a proper interpretation of the clause, “robust and lively debate about the role of religion in government is permitted, even encouraged, at the state and local level.” The result of such debate could be, of course, that some states (and localities?) might decide to establish religion in any number of ways — such as by permitting state funding of theological education or by allowing teacher-led prayer in the public schools.

Thomas’ desire that the establishment clause be “dis-incorporated” has long been seen as an eccentricity on the court. Gorsuch just made it significantly less eccentric by signing on to Thomas’ concurrence. Put that together with Roberts’ willingness to read the precedents as he has and it’s a solid bet that the court will be continuing to expand the scope of free exercise for some time to come.

New Law in Iran Threatens More Arrests of Christians, Rights Advocates Say

June 30, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Legislation passed by parliament in Iran could make it easier to arrest and imprison Christians and other religious minorities, rights advocates said.

Under amendments to articles 499 and 500 of the Islamic Penal Code, those found guilty of “deviant psychological manipulation” or “propaganda contrary to Islam,” whether in the “real or virtual sphere,” could be labeled as “sects,” according to advocacy group Article 18.

The law enables the regime to ban any group as a sect and may lead to punishment that could be escalated to include the death penalty, said Hamid Garagozloo, U.S. representative of The International Organization to Preserve Human Rights (IOPHR), while moderating a recent webinar panel discussion with representatives of religious minorities who could be affected by the law.

Expanding the margin for Iranian authorities to justify discriminatory actions against Christian converts, the law would make it more difficult for lawyers to defend them and other religious minorities, according to a Middle East expert at advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).

While the amendment has been in the pipeline for two years, it was recently approved by parliament in the middle of May, according to a researcher at advocacy group Middle East Concern (MEC).

“The last couple of weeks, religious minorities have started to take notice and are thinking about what to do and how to raise awareness,” he said. “It is quite worrying, because the amendments made, rather than protecting religious freedom at all, try to define exactly who is following fundamental theology or not.”

Before the law is implemented, it must be approved by the Guardian Council in Iran, he said, adding that it is unclear when that decision could be made.

The government has been arresting Christian converts and giving them sentences of up to 15 years under vague terms such as, “acting against national security,” said Mansour Borji, advocacy director of Article 18 in the webinar hosted by IOPHR. In the past decade, these charges have been used to replace more obvious religious charges such as apostasy, he said. This obscuring of religious freedom violations by shying away from terms like "apostasy" was largely due to international pressure, according to Article 18.

Advocates believe this effort to extend greater control could be the regime’s reaction to losing credibility among its people amid economic difficulties and poor handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic. As crises in the country mount, they said, religious minorities and Western Christianity may become an easy scapegoat.

“Many Christian groups and church leaders are worried because this would add another layer to their ongoing suffering at the hands of the Islamic regime,” said the expert at CSW.

Other religious minorities that would be affected by the law include Sunni and Sufi Muslims and the Baha’i.

Aside from Shia Islam and Judaism, Christianity is one of the three recognized religions in Iran. Protections, however, apply only to a small number of approved Christian groups, namely ethnically Christian Assyrians and Armenians.

All but a handful of churches who offered their services in the national language of Farsi have been forced to close since the Islamic revolution in the 1970s, Borji said in the webinar. The remaining churches are monitored to make sure that no Muslim-born Iranians attend them. Converts are forced to practice their faith in secret, underground churches and are routinely harassed and arrested, he said.

RECENT ARRESTS

Most recently, four Iranian Christian converts accused of endangering state security and promoting Zionism obeyed a summons issued at the end of May and presented themselves to Evin Prison to begin serving sentences of five years each, according to MEC.

Hossein Kadivar, Khalil Dehghanpour, Kamal Naamanian and Mohammed Vafadar had been released on bail of about $13,000 each last July. All but Vafadar are married with children.

The four were among nine Christian converts belonging to the Church of Iran who were arrested at the beginning of 2019 over a four-week period. In October 2019, all nine were convicted of “acting against national security” and given five-year sentences, which were held on appeal in February.

“It is very sad, of course, for those people involved,” the MEC representative said. “It’s easy to say five years, but for the people who actually experience this, it’s so difficult.”

The remaining five men out of nine have been in Evin Prison, unable to post bail following a disagreement with a judge over their choice of a defense lawyer.

About a year-and-a-half ago, Iran set which lawyers would be able to defend political prisoners. The five were unwilling to let go of the lawyer they chose, who was not on the list. This angered the judge and caused him to set the exorbitant bail, according to the researcher at MEC.

They were immediately transferred to Evin Prison after not being able to meet the bail amount of $130,000 each, according to MEC.

REDUCTION IN SENTENCES

After an appeal, three other Christian converts who had been handed sentences of 10-years were given a reduction of their sentences.

Sentences against Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani and Zaman (Saheb) Fadaie were reduced to six years, and for Mohammadreza (Yuhan) Omidi, to two years, according to MEC.

Omidi was expected to be eligible for release in July. The decision regarding a fourth church member who was arrested and convicted at the same time, Yasser Mossaybezadeh, was not yet known.

The men will appeal again, said the expert at CSW.

The men and their families were hoping that the sentences would be completely overturned, said the expert at MEC, as they should never have been in prison in the first place.

“On the one hand it’s great that it’s been reduced, but on the other hand, they were expecting more,” he said.

HEARING DELAYED

An appeal hearing to review the cases of Pastor Victor Bet Tamraz, his wife Shamiram Issavi Khabizeh and three Christian converts was canceled with no reason given, according to MEC.

Advocates are not sure why the appeal has been delayed but it could be because the case of Tamraz has become publicized, said the researcher at MEC. There are many inconsistencies and mistakes in handling the case, he said, which could be another reason for the delay. Continually delayed hearings are also often used as a form of harassment, he added.

NEW ARRESTS

Four other Christians belonging to the Church of Iran denomination were accused of spreading “Zionist Evangelical Christianity” and “home church meetings,” according to a CSW press statement.

They received a summons from the third branch of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Tehran on June 19, according to the release.

Judges Hassan Babaie and Zenjani signed a verdict based on Article 498 of the Islamic Penal Code, which criminalizes the establishment of groups that aim to “overthrow the system,” according to CSW.

Iran was ranked ninth on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

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Globalists Reveal That the 'Great Economic Reset' Is Coming In 2021

For those not familiar with the phrase "global economic reset", it is one that has been used ever increasingly by elitists in the central banking world for several years. I first heard it referenced by Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF at the time, in 2014. The reset is often mentioned in the same breath as ideas like "the New Multilateralism" or "the Multipolar World Order" or "the New World Order". All of these phrases mean essentially the same thing.

The reset is promoted as a solution to the ongoing economic crisis which was triggered in 2008. This same financial crash is still with us today; but now, after a decade of central bank money printing and debt creation, the bubble is even bigger than it was before.  As always, the central bank "cure" is far worse than the disease, and the renewed crash we face today is far more deadly than what would have happened in 2008 if we had simply taken our medicine and refused to prop up weak parts of the economy artificially.

Many alternative economists often wrongly attribute the Fed's habit of making things worse to "hubris" or "ignorance". They think the Fed actually wants to save the financial system or "protect the golden goose", but this is not reality.  The truth is, the Fed is not a bumbling maintenance man, the Fed is a saboteur, a suicide bomber that is willing to destroy even itself as an institution in order to explode the US economy and clear the path for a new globally centralized one world system. Hence, the "Global Reset".

In 2015 in my article 'The Global Economic Reset Has Begun', I stated:

The global reset is not a "response" to the process of collapse we are trapped in today. No, the global reset as implemented by central banks and the BIS/IMF is the cause of the collapse. The collapse is a tool, a flamethrower burning a great hole in the forest to make way for the foundations of the globalist Ziggurat to be built....economic disaster serves the interests of elitists. Now in 2020 we see the globalist plan coming to fruition, with the elites revealing what appears to be their intent to launch their reset in 2021. The World Economic Forum officially announced the Great Reset initiative as part of their Covid Action Platform last week, and a summit is scheduled in January 2021 to discuss their plans more openly with the world and the mainstream media.

The WEF also posted a rather bizarre video on the Reset, which consists of a series of images of the world falling apart (and images of factories releasing harmless carbon emission into the air which I suppose is meant to scare us with notions of global warming). The destruction is then "reset" at the push of a button, with everything reversing back to a pristine human-less world of nature and the words "Join Us".

The reset, according to discussions by the IMF, is basically the next stage in the formation of a one-world economic system and potential global government. This seems to fall in line with the solutions offered during the Event 201 pandemic simulation; a simulation of a coronavirus pandemic that was held by the Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Economic Forum only two months before the REAL THING happened at the beginning of 2020. 

Event 201 suggested that one of the top solutions to a pandemic would be the institution of a centralized global economic body that could handle the financial response to the coronavirus. Is it not convenient that the events of the real coronavirus pandemic fall exactly in line with the Event 201 simulation, as well as directly in line with the global reset plans of the IMF and the World Economic Forum? As they say, let no crisis go to waste, or, as is the motto of the globalists "Order Out Of Chaos".

With civil unrest about to become a way of life for many parts of the world including the US, and the pandemic set for a resurgence of infections after the "reopening", creating a rationale for a second wave of lockdowns probably in July, the economy as we know it is being destroyed. The last vestiges of the system, hanging by a thin thread after the crash of 2008, are now being cut.

The goal is rather obvious - terrify the population with poverty, internal conflicts and a broken supply chain until they lobby the establishment for help.  Then, offer the "solution" of medical tyranny, immunity passports, martial law, a global economic system based on a cashless digital society in which privacy in trade is erased, and then slowly but surely form a faceless "multilateral" global government which answers to no one and does whatever it pleases.

I remember back in 2014 when Christine Lagarde first began talking about the reset. That same year she also made a very strange speech to the National Press Club in which she started rambling gleefully about numerology and the "magic number 7".  Many within the club laughed, as there was apparently an inside joke that the rest of us were not privy to. Well, I would point out that the World Economic Forum meeting on the global reset in 2021 will be held exactly 7 years after Lagarde gave that speech. Just another interesting coincidence I suppose...

The new world order, the global reset, is a long running scheme to centralize power, but in a way that is meant to be sustained for centuries to come. The elites know that it is not enough to achieve global governance by force alone; such an attempt would only lead to resistance and eternal rebellion. 

No, what the elites want is for the public to ASK, even beg for global governance. If the public is tricked into demanding it as a way to save them from the horrors of global chaos, then they are far less likely to rebel against it later. Problem - reaction - solution. The pandemic is not going away anytime soon. Everyone should expect that state governments and the federal government will call for renewed lockdowns. With these new lockdowns, the US economy in particular will be finished. With 40 million people losing their jobs during the last lockdowns (46 million as of today - Ed.), many states only partially reopened, and only 13% to 18% of small businesses receiving bailout loans to survive, the next two months are going to be a devastating wake-up call.

The real solution will be for people to form more self-reliant communities free of the mainstream economy. The real solution should be decentralization and independence, not centralization and slavery. The globalists will seek to interfere with any effort to break from the program.  That said, they can do very little if millions of people enact localization efforts at the same time. If people aren't reliant on the system, then they cannot be controlled by the system.

The real test will come with the final collapse of the existing economy. When stagflation spikes even harder than it is right now and prices of necessities double or triple yet again, and joblessness skyrockets even further, how many people will clamor for the globalist solution and how many will build their own systems?  How many will be bowing in submission and how many will be ready to fight back. It is a question I still don't have an answer to even after 14 years of analysis on the issue.

Christian Missionary Opens Up about Life in China amid the Coronavirus Pandemic

As China recovers from COVID-19, the lingering effects of the virus on the country and believers in China can still be felt. Recently, Christian Headlines was granted an exclusive interview with an underground missionary and resident of China to help explain the effects of the virus on the country and people of faith. Because China is a closed country to the gospel, we have withheld the missionary’s identity and the name of their missions organization out of an abundance of safety. What has life been like in China post-COVID-19?

China has been gradually returning to normal life with restrictions lifting across the country, but citizens are still very wary of a potential second wave of coronavirus cases, particularly in the original epicenter, Wuhan. As the country opens for business again, China has had to be much more vigilant about international visitors and their own nationals returning home with the virus.

To ensure there isn’t a second outbreak at the epicenter, China is now testing all 11 million residents of Wuhan. While a prudent course of action, long lines of residents queuing to be tested show little regard for physical distancing.

Travel restrictions inside China are gradually lifted. There are still partial lockdowns in some areas, counties and villages, but the situation varies from place to place. In some places, more strict restrictions are still enforced, e.g. outsiders are not allowed to enter residential buildings, isolation of 14 days at home is required when a citizen comes back to their hometown from another place.

Local authorities in some cities have allowed citizens and businesses to return to normal life in order to avoid an economic plunge.

When did you realize that COVID-19 was serious?

On 31 December 2019, the Hygiene and Health Committee of Wuhan City publicly announced 27 cases of an unusual type of pneumonia. In early-January, Chinese media, inside China and overseas, extensively reported the potential for an epidemic. In mid-January, cases in other countries like Thailand, Japan and South Korea were reported. By January 20, hospitals in Wuhan were already overwhelmed by hundreds of patients each day, each showing symptoms of the new virus.

On January 20^th, Professor Nanshan Zhong (a pulmonologist from southern China and the face of China’s fight against the virus) confirmed in the media that the virus could be spread from human to human and was highly contagious.

Wuhan city went into lockdown on Jan 23^rd.

What would most Americans be surprised to learn about life in China?

The ‘Health Barcode.’ This is a QR code issued by health centers to individuals who have tested negative for coronavirus. The code is downloaded to the person’s mobile phone and scanning the code gives them access to public places and facilities such as public transport, office buildings, shopping centers, etc. The barcode app tracks the person’s movement which facilitates faster identification of virus outbreak clusters.

Some Chinese people live in modern apartment buildings within residential zones that are managed and monitored by a governing office. Under COVID-19, these offices issue families with a residence card that restricts the number of times and the areas in which each family can shop for food each week.

What is the spiritual temperature like in China?

Christians who are able to connect online are doing so much more regularly than before. It has been the normal life of Chinese Christians to stay connected with each other spiritually on Chinese social media, and even listen or watch sermons and attend Biblical training online. While many churches have the capacity and motivation to conduct online services and fellowship, some small churches choose to stay low profile. They choose to connect believers one-on-one or in small groups on social media and meet with a few fellow believers in public areas when the situation permits.

Under lockdowns, believers join online services, listen or watch online sermons, pray and use the word of God to encourage one another online, more than usual. The spiritual hunger and growth are tangible.

Some local churches join together to set up praying platforms. They encourage believers to pray more fervently for their local communities, cities, and government. One pastor from Wuhan told us that the 15+ cell groups in his church used to meet once a week, but during the pandemic, they were all meeting daily online! The pastors in his church are preaching online every day too. They introduced a two-hour prayer meeting each week, and now offer a range of online bible classes. In fact, all church meetings in this Wuhan church are being held more frequently now. The pastor said they feel closer than ever before!

Besides just preaching from the bible, churches have realized the pastoral needs of brothers and sisters in their churches in a way that may have gone unnoticed if there wasn’t a pandemic.

More and more churches, including those at the virus epicenter, have risen to the challenge to serve their communities. They have reached out to provide food, face masks, protective clothing and friendship and comfort to those directly affected by COVID-19, as well as to poor and isolated residents who have no other support networks.

What is family life like in China?

As in other countries, families have had to deal with educating their children at home, dealing with loss of income and isolation, and the inevitable relational challenges that arise from whole families being restricted to very small apartments with no gardens to escape to!

Parents who in modern China often work long hours have had to stay home, and children who get up very early for long school days followed by excessive amounts of homework have enjoyed some reprieve. It remains to be seen whether family relationships have improved or suffered during the lockdowns, but we hope that families have grown closer and learned to love each other better during this ‘enforced’ time of bonding.

What is church life like in China?

Churches around the country have mostly stopped physical services, but many have started to use online platforms to connect, pray and study the bible together. As sad as this pandemic is, church life has been given a boost as believers congregate online to care for each other and serve their communities.

Once restrictions began to lift, Christians began to meet in small groups of 4 or 5 people to enjoy each other’s company again, pray, sing and help each other.

So far, no church facilities have re-opened.

How can we be praying for you?

Please pray that Christians across China continue to reach out to their neighbors and communities with the love of Jesus. We shouldn’t have to wait until a pandemic erupts to do this! We have so much to offer but we so often just keep it to ourselves.

Please pray that our government makes wise decisions about the ongoing challenges of this virus, and that rather than persecuting the church, they would see us as a positive force of love and support.

Can you also pray that this new hunger to connect with other believers and grow closer to God on a daily basis would gather momentum? The New Testament church used to meet together in their homes all the time – we need this so much.

10 Christians, Including a 3-Year-Old Girl, Killed by Extremists in Nigeria

Nigerian Christians are facing continual persecution from religious extremists in a series of coordinated attacks.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that 10 people were murdered in a brutal attack at the hands of Fulani militants on June 3, according to CBN News.

The assault was carried out at around 5:00 am in the Tudun Agwalla community in Kajuru, Kaduna state in northwest Nigeria.

One of the ten victims was a three-year-old girl named Elizabeth Samaila who was struck multiple times in the head by a machete. The young girl was taken to a hospital where she died the next day.

The other nine victims were killed after the Fulani militants hacked them to death using machetes. Six of the victims have been identified as Richard Yusuf, Kefas Yusuf, Fidelis Wada, Kachia, Genesis Soja, and Rahab Soja who were all buried in a mass grave.

Rita Friday, 8, also suffered an injury to the head during the attack.

Attacks on Christians have persisted despite COVID-19 restrictions that began in March.

“Southern Kaduna is steadily being transformed into killing fields, either due to a gross failure of governance, or official indifference and acquiescence,” CSW's Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said.

“International pressure must now be brought to bear on both the state and federal authorities to ensure protection for these vulnerable communities, and that effective action is taken to disarm all armed non-state actors, and bring the perpetrators of these horrific atrocities to justice,” Thomas added.

In a separate incident, a Nigerian pastor and his wife were shot dead by Islamic militia on June 1 in the town of Mararrba in Donga LGA, Taraba State. They are survived by eight children between the ages of one and 19.

As Christian Headlines previously reported, 2 Republican senators called for President Trump to send a special envoy to aid Nigerian Christians who were being persecuted.

Both Senators noted in the letter to the President that 40,000 Nigerians were killed by Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist organization.

It was also reported that Boko Haram killed more than 600 Nigerian Christians in the first five months of 2020.

Open Doors' 2020 World Watch List ranks Nigeria as the 12^th most difficult country for Christian’s to live because of persecution.

Rumors Of Wars: China, India, North Korea, South Korea, Israel And Turkey

As if we didn't have enough already going on in 2020, now we are facing the possibility that several regional wars may erupt.  China and India had both been pouring troops into a disputed border region, and now there has been an incident where they were actually killing each other. On the Korean peninsula, North Korea just blew up "a joint liaison office" that it had used for talks with the South Korean government. And in the Middle East, Turkey is warning of grave consequences if Israel goes ahead with a plan to annex portions of Judea and Samaria.  

If a major regional war erupts at even one of these flashpoints, it will be another devastating blow for a global economy that is already imploding, and there is a very strong probability that the U.S. and other major western powers could be drawn into the conflict.

Right now, most Americans are focused on our internal problems, and so they are paying very little attention to the growing crisis on the border between China and India.

Both nations had sent substantial contingents of troops to an area of the border that has long been disputed, and a meeting that was supposed to defuse tensions actually resulted in soldiers killing one another...

Chinese state media described the incident Monday night in the Galwan River valley where both countries have deployed troops in recent weeks as "the most serious clash between Chinese and Indian soldiers so far," confirming casualties but offering no further details about them. Indian government sources speaking on the condition of anonymity told The Times of India that 20 Indian army personnel had died in the fighting.

American intelligence believes 35 Chinese troops died, including one senior officer, a source familiar with that assessment tells U.S. News. The incident took place during a meeting in the mountainous region between the two sides - both of which had agreed to disarm - to determine how the two militaries would safely withdraw their presences from the region. This is the very first time in decades that Chinese and Indian troops have killed each other, and apparently very little shooting was involved...

The meeting grew tense and resulted in a physical confrontation between the troops. According to the assessment, all of the casualties were from the use of batons and knives and from falls from the steep topography, the source says.

That sounds like a scene from an overly gory Hollywood war movie, but reportedly this actually happened.

Hopefully the leaders of the two nations will be able to cool tensions for a while, but the Chinese have a very long history of very bitter border disputes with their neighbors, and without a doubt China will continue to make attempts to exercise sovereignty over this area.

Meanwhile, tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen to a level that we haven't seen in many, many years.  On Tuesday, North Korea actually blew up a building that had been used for negotiations with South Korea...

North Korea has blown up a joint liaison office used for talks between itself and South Korea, the latest sign that ties between the two longtime adversaries are rapidly deteriorating. North Korean state media reported that the four-story building, which is located in the town of Kaesong just north of the demilitarized zone that divides the two Koreas, was "completely destroyed by a "terrific explosion" at 2:50 p.m. local time.

That is certainly one way to make a statement. And this comes just days after Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, had issued a very ominous warning...

In a cryptic statement late Saturday, Kim Yo Jong vowed her country would "soon take a next action" against South Korea -- a move she suggested would be carried out by the country's military. "By exercising my power authorized by the Supreme Leader, our Party and the state, I gave an instruction to the arms of the department in charge of the affairs with enemy to decisively carry out the next action," Kim said in the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

All of a sudden, North Korea's approach to relations with South Korea has dramatically shifted, and that shift has coincided with Kim Yo Jong taking a much more prominent role in national affairs.

I believe that there is much more going on in North Korea than we are being told, and Kim Yo Jong appears to favor a much more militant approach than what we have become accustomed to in recent years.

Over in the Middle East, the Times of Israel is reporting that the IDF is gearing up for a "state of war" as Israel prepares to annex portions of Judea and Samaria...

Just over two weeks before a possible Israeli annexation of some as-yet unspecified portion of the West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces is preparing for a wide range of scenarios for potential regional fallout -- up to and including a large-scale wave of terror attacks -- while still not being told exactly what the government has in mind.

The military is gearing up for possible massive unrest, Channel 12 reported Sunday evening, including what it is calling a potential "state of war" characterized by a Second Intifada-style onslaught of suicide bombing attacks.

This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again made it clear that he does not intend to alter his plans, and that means that the process of annexation could start as soon as the beginning of July.

A few weeks ago, I wrote an entire article about how this could potentially spark a major war in the region, and Arab leaders continue to make it clear that there will be "consequences" if Israel goes through with this...

Israel's plan to extend its sovereignty to the Jordan Valley, and parts of Judea and Samaria, will "destroy all hopes" for lasting peace in the Middle East, Turkey's top diplomat said on Wednesday.

"If the occupying power [Israel] crosses the red line, we [Muslim countries] must show that this will have consequences," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a special meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Executive Committee, according to Turkey's Anadolu Agency.

We shall see what happens.

I think that Netanyahu is convinced that Donald Trump is probably going to lose in November, and so that means that he probably believes that he only has a window of a few months in which he could annex portions of Judea and Samaria with U.S. support.

It appears that Netanyahu is absolutely determined to move forward, and it also appears that Israel's Arab neighbors are prepared to respond very forcefully.

In just a few weeks, missiles could start flying back and forth, and the entire Middle East could erupt in flames.

This is such a critical time, and let us pray for peace.

But without a doubt we are living during a time of "wars and rumors of wars", and it certainly isn't going to take much to unleash a major conflict.

Supreme Court Cannot 'Overturn the Word of God,' Franklin Graham Says of LGBT Case

Evangelist Franklin Graham says the U.S. Supreme Court exceeded its authority and may have infringed on religious liberty with its decision Monday expanding the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

The high court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled employers cannot fire someone merely for being gay or transgender under federal law. 

In comments on social media, Graham said he’s concerned how the decision will impact Christian ministries. 

“As Justice Alito has pointed out, the majority went too far – he called it a ‘brazen abuse of our authority.’ The Supreme Court exists to interpret the law, not to make new laws – making laws is the job of our Representatives in Congress, elected by the people,’ Graham wrote. “I believe this decision erodes religious freedoms across this country. 

“People of sincere faith who stand on God’s Word as their foundation for life should never be forced by the government to compromise their religious beliefs. Christian organizations should never be forced to hire people who do not align with their biblical beliefs and should not be prevented from terminating a person whose lifestyle and beliefs undermine the ministry’s purpose and goals.”

Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority, acknowledged the justices were “deeply concerned with preserving the promise of the free exercise of religion enshrined in our Constitution” and that other cases may arise with “free exercise arguments that merit careful consideration.” 

“But how these doctrines protecting religious liberty interact with Title VII are questions for future cases,” Gorsuch wrote.

Religious liberty organizations are hopeful the court eventually will carve out religious exemptions. 

“As a Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ, my rights should be protected,” Graham said. “Even if my sincerely held religious beliefs might be the minority, I still have a right to hold them. The same holds true for a Christian organization. These are the freedoms our nation was founded on.

“The Supreme Court does not override and will never overturn the Word of God,” Graham added. “One day we will all have to stand before God, the Righteous Judge, whose decisions are not based on politics or the whims of culture. His laws are true and are the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Hopes Wilt for Teaching Christianity in Schools in Sudan

JUBA, South Sudan, June 18, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Hopes that the transitional government in Sudan would bring back Christianity as a school subject alongside Islam wilted when officials omitted it from an academic schedule released last week, sources said.

Doubly disappointed when an expected TV broadcast of school lessons on Christianity was omitted from the government-owned Television Station Khartoum International Channel this week, Christian parents suspected Islamist elements within the transitional government were influencing Khartoum State Ministry of Education planning.

The only Christian woman appointed to the council that oversees transition to civilian government in Sudan, Raja Nicola Eissa Abdel-Masih, told a group of Sudanese church leaders in an online meeting on Tuesday (June 16) that council members were working to resolve the issue.

“I have been in communication with the undersecretary in the Ministry of Education in regards to the removal of Christian Religion from the time-table of the subjects for the Basic School Certificate for the year 2020,” Abdel-Masih told the church leaders.

A Coptic Christian who long served as a judge in Sudan’s Ministry of Justice, Abdel-Masih was one of six civilians appointed to the 11-member Sovereignty Council last August. Christians who have suffered under the regime of Omar al-Bashir, deposed in April 2019, have hoped that she and others in the new government can counter an entrenched Islamist mindset.

'ISLAMIZATION'

The Rev. Yahia Abdelrahim Nalu of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) said the larger issue is that Christian students obliged to study Islamic Religion as a school subject are often forced to convert to Islam.

“Unfortunately, this is what is happening – most Christian students sit for Islamic Religion for the sake of obtaining the certificate, but they end up victims of Islamization,” Nalu told Morning Star News.

The situation is worse in remote areas where there are no churches or Christian schools to teach Christianity and students are forced to take Islamic Religion, he said.

Pastor Sami Yousif Rahal of the SPEC, a teacher in the eastern Sudan state of Al-Qadarif, said at Tuesday’s online conference of Christian leaders that more than 650 Christian students in the state were forced to study Islamic Religion.

“As a result, most of these students were forced to be converted to Islam as part of Islamization over the past years,” Rahal told the church leaders.

Effectively prohibiting the teaching of Christianity at government schools by barring the government from hiring Christian teachers, Bashir had left instruction on Christianity to churches and Christian schools.

School operation on Sundays in Sudan also has been contested. In July 2017, the Bashir government ordered all Christian schools in the capital to regard Sunday as a work day, but a Transitional Military Council on April 22, 2019 issued an order to restore Sunday as an official weekend recess day for Christian schools throughout the country.

Disregarding Sunday as a worship day for Christians, Sudan even before Bashir had scheduled exams for both primary and secondary schools on Sundays. In March Sudanese Minister of Education Mohamed Al-Amin Al-Toam said the government would consider excluding Christian holidays and Sundays in scheduling national exams

Following the secession of South Sudan in 2011, Bashir had vowed to adopt a stricter version of sharia (Islamic law) and recognize only Islamic culture and the Arabic language. Church leaders said Sudanese authorities demolished or confiscated churches and limited Christian literature on the pretext that most Christians have left the country following South Sudan’s secession.

In April 2013 the then-Sudanese Minister of Guidance and Endowments announced that no new licenses would be granted for building new churches in Sudan, citing a decrease in the South Sudanese population. Sudan since 2012 had expelled foreign Christians and bulldozed church buildings. Besides raiding Christian bookstores and arresting Christians, authorities threatened to kill South Sudanese Christians who did not leave or cooperate with them in their effort to find other Christians.

After Bashir was deposed, military leaders initially formed a military council to rule the country, but further demonstrations led them to accept a transitional government of civilians and military figures, with a predominantly civilian government to be democratically elected in three years. Christians were expected to have greater voice under the new administration.

The new government that was sworn in on Sept. 8, 2019 led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, an economist, is tasked with governing during a transition period of 39 months. It faces the challenges of rooting out longstanding corruption and an Islamist “deep state” rooted in Bashir’s 30 years of power.

In light of advances in religious freedom since Bashir was ousted in April, the U.S. State Department announced on Dec. 20 that Sudan had been removed from the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) that engage in or tolerate “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom” and was upgraded to a watch list.

Sudan had been designated a CPC by the U.S. State Department since 1999.

Sudan ranked 7^th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

World Health Organization Promotes Cashless Society Over Virus Fears      

Following reports that Beijing had "quarantined" dirty cash, the WHO warned on Monday that the virus could survive on banknotes, potentially spreading Covid-19 within communities, and across the world. To reduce the risk of being infected by money, the NGO advised citizens in countries struggling with outbreaks to favor digital payments when possible, the Daily Telegraph reported.

That the WHO is telling the public to avoid cash is hardly a surprise: research has found that coronaviruses have been found to live on surfaces for as long as 9 days. During the statement, a WHO spokesman referenced a Bank of England study claiming that banknotes "can carry bacteria or viruses" and urged people to wash their hands. Other studies have shown that 90% of US $1 bills had bacteria present, and one Swiss study found that viruses had survive on the faces of Swiss francs for days.

The WHO's warnings follow the People's Bank of China last month started disinfecting currency deposited at Chinese banks using ultraviolet light, before quarantining the bills for a week before releasing them back into circulation.

Brits, and their fellow Europeans, should be increasingly careful as the virus spreads across Europe, the WHO warned, via the Telegraph: "We know that money changes hands frequently and can pick up all sorts of bacteria and viruses," a spokesman told the Telegraph.

"We would advise people to wash their hands after handling banknotes, and avoid touching their face. When possible, it would also be advisable to use contactless payments to reduce the risk of transmission."

Of course, that one of the world's major NGOs is seizing the opportunity to proclaim the virtues of 'paperless' money is hardly a surprise: the globalist push toward a 'cashless society' has been underway for years now, having had its biggest successes in Scandinavia. Sweden has gone virtually "cashless", and in such a short time, they've already confronted the many drawbacks of relying exclusively on digital money.

As we noted previously, here is what happens next:

...the virus spreads throughout the US and Europe and governments respond the same way China's government has; martial law and full blown concentration camp culture. This would lead to civil war in the US because we are armed and many people will shoot anyone trying to put us into quarantine camps. Europe is mostly screwed.

The establishment then suggests that paper money be removed from the system because it is a viral spreader. China is already pushing this solution now.

Magically, we find ourselves in a cashless society in a matter of a year or two; which is what the globalists have been demanding for years. Everything goes digital, and thus even local economies become completely centralized as private trade dies.

A viral outbreak is a significant danger to us all, but an even greater threat is the supposed cure. Trading our economic and social freedom in the name of stopping the coronavirus?  No matter how deadly the bug, it's just not worth it.

Bible Is 'More Than a Symbol' or 'Prop,' American Bible Society Says in Bible Giveaway

The American Bible Society on Tuesday launched a free Bible giveaway and said God’s Word was “more than a symbol” or a “prop in a noisy news cycle,” one day after President Trump walked to St. John's Episcopal Church and held up a Bible.

The article on the ministry’s website doesn’t mention Trump or even St. John’s, but it uses language that many on social media interpreted to reference Trump’s church visit. It was posted one day after the controversy.

“In this time of pandemic fear and social isolation, in this time of racial injustice and senseless violence, in this time of economic uncertainty and generational pain, we should be careful not to use the Bible as a political symbol, one more prop in a noisy news cycle,” wrote Whitney T. Kuniholm, a member of the senior leadership team at the American Bible Society.

“Because, more than ever,” he wrote, “we need to hear what’s true. ‘Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!’ (Amos 5:24 NIV). ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me …’ Psalm 23:4 KJV). 

It’s not the first time the American Bible Society has given Bibles away during a news cycle. Last year, the American Bible Society gave away more than 10,000 free Bibles following the release of Kanye West’s faith-centric album.

Kuniholm, in his article, listed a diverse group of well-known people who have relied on Scripture.

“Whether you are person of faith or not, there’s no denying the Bible has been an important part of our American experience, especially in times of crisis,” he wrote. “From John Quincy Adams and Abraham Lincoln, to Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King Jr., leaders of all political stripes have solemnly held up the Bible and used it as inspiration in our most difficult moments.

“But why? Why do Americans turn to the Bible in times of national trauma?” Kuniholm asked. “Why are we instinctively drawn to a dusty old volume in our darkest moments? What makes that book so special? Answer? Because the Bible is more than a symbol. It’s a message of unity, justice, hope, love, faith, and liberty. It’s a message of Good News for all people. That’s what gives it power.”

The Bibles, he wrote, are free.

“At American Bible Society we call Americans of all faiths or no faith at all to look beyond the symbol and read the Bible for yourself,” Kuniholm wrote. “If you don’t have a Bible or would like one, go to abs.bible/free and request it. No cost. No proselytizing. No strings. It’s your opportunity to experience the Bible’s timeless message of healing and hope for yourself.”

Christian Boy, 16, Stabbed and Stoned to Death for His Faith in Eastern India

NEW DELHI, June 11, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Incited by Hindu extremists, followers of traditional tribal religion in eastern India last week stabbed and stoned a 16-year-old Christian boy to death for his faith, sources said.

The mutilated body of Sambaru Madkami was found on Friday (June 5) buried in the jungle of Malkangiri, about six kilometers (less than 4 miles) from his village of Kenduguda, Malkangiri District, Odisha state. The village animists had seized him on Thursday night (June 4) after deciding to kill the male heads of the three Christian families in the village, area sources said.

“They had come for me,” Sambaru’s father, Unga Madkami, told Morning Star News, “but I was not at home. I had taken my daughter who was sick to the doctor.”

Living at home instead of the hostel of his school in Bhejaguda because of a COVID-19 lockdown, Sambaru had been leading daily meetings of a house church whose founding pastor, living in another town, dared to appear only twice a month due to villagers’ growing opposition. The only three Christian families in the village of 210 families met at Sambaru’s house.

“Sambaru knew the Word of God the most from among us,” his cousin told Morning Star News. “So he was the one who led us in a time of prayer and learning from the Bible every day in his house.”

ABDUCTION

Some seven to 10 villagers came to his family’s home at about 11 p.m. on June 4 and called for his father, said an area resident whose name is withheld for security reasons.

As Sambaru’s father was staying overnight at a relative’s house en route to the hospital several miles away where he was taking his daughter for treatment, the villagers abducted Sambaru, the source said. 

“They took him a few meters further, where a huge mob was waiting for him,” the eyewitness told Morning Star News, translated from the tribal language by an area pastor. “They tied his hands and started to beat him.”

The assailants then went to the house of Sambaru’s cousin, like his father also named Unga Madkami, and called for him, but his wife stopped him from going out and urged him to run for his life toward the jungle, the cousin told Morning Star News.

The attackers then called out to the third Christian male targeted, 18-year-old Sukka Padiami, who jumped out his back window and fled toward the jungle.

“Both I and Sukka ran all night across the jungle,” Sambaru’s cousin told Morning Star News. “We ran for almost 20 kilometers [12 miles] and then called our pastor, who directed us to go to his friend’s house, and we took refuge there.”

MURDER

“The villagers were instigated to attack the Christians at the behest of Hindu extremists,” said area pastor Bijay Pusuru, a close friend of Sambaru’s family.

The assailants dragged Sambaru six kilometers from the village to the jungle, “completely” ripping off the skin on his back, Pastor Pusuru said, citing information from an autopsy report.

Sambaru’s village house church pastor, Inga Madkami, said information from police and the autopsy report indicated the assailants broke the young Christian’s legs and hands, put him in a sack and stabbed him with a knife.

“Several knife stabs are visible on his back, we were told,” Pastor Madkami said.

The autopsy indicated the assailants untied the knotted sack, tore open Sambaru’s mouth from both sides and smashed his face with a huge stone, the pastors said.

“His eyes, nose and face were not visible,” said Pastor Pusuru, sobbing. “It was all smashed.”

The autopsy indicated that the killers then struck the back of Sambaru’s head with a stone before slitting his throat, the pastors said.

“They dug a shallow pit and put his dead body there and covered it with mud and leaves,” Pastor Pusuru told Morning Star News.

ARREST AND CONFESSION

Police arrested six people after Sambaru’s cousin filed a complaint, and two of the suspects, Deba Madkami and another whose identity is unclear, confessed to the kidnapping and murder and led officers to Sambaru’s body, according to Inspector Ram Prasad Nag, the investigating officer who is also Station Head Officer of the Malkangiri police station.

“At the confession of two of the arrested, we were able to trace Sambaru’s mutilated body,” Nag told Morning Star News. “We are still in the process of investigation, and with new facts surfacing, the sections of the FIR [First Information Report] are being changed accordingly.”

FIR No. 180, registered on Friday (June 5), names four suspects – Deba Madkami, Budra Muchaki, Aaita Kabasi and Ramu Madi.

Police found Sambaru’s body at 7 p.m. on Friday (June 5) but didn’t recover and transport the body away until the next morning. After the autopsy, Sambaru’s family buried his body at a funeral service officiated by Pastor Pusuru on Saturday (June 6) in the deceased’s native Kenduguda, under police supervision at 9 p.m., Pastor Madkami said.

Sambaru’s cousin stated in his police complaint that Sambaru was abducted and killed for his Christian faith, but those arrested told officers that they killed him because he and the other targeted Christians were practicing “black magic,” according to Nag.

“In the last few weeks, 15 people have died due to various reasons in the village,” Nag told Morning Star News. “Some had swelling in their hands and legs; the villagers were suspecting Unga [Madkami, Sambaru’s father] to be involved in black magic and witchcraft.”

Sambaru’s relatives roundly denied the allegations, reiterating that the motive for the killing was, in the words of one, “purely our Christian faith.”

Mobbing villagers appeared little restrained by the arrests.

“Killing Sambaru was not enough, the villagers gathered together [on Friday, June 5] and decided to kill all the members of the three Christian families,” Pastor Pusuru told Morning Star News.

All members of the three Christian families had to lock their homes and flee from the village, he said.

To celebrate the gruesome murder, the villagers prepared a feast, Sambaru’s anguished cousin said.

“Villagers the next day looted one of Sambaru’s pigs and two quintals [about 440 lbs.] of rice from his house and went to the jungle, where they cooked the pig and the rice and celebrated ‘Odia Bhoji’ [a festival showcasing food from the Odisha state],” he said.

FALSE PROPAGANDA

Local media have repeated the false allegation of “black magic” as the motive for the killing, which in the minds of many villagers justifies horrific murder.

Pastor Pusuru said contaminated drinking water led to the recent deaths in the village, as local news channels had reported prior to the killing. The accusation of Christians practicing black magic as the cause of the deaths was later fabricated as an attempt to justify the killing, he said.

The Rev. Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), said his heart grieves with the family.

“The manner in which Sambaru was killed was most gruesome,” Lal told Morning Star News. “A promising young life was snuffed out because of the hatred that seems to have permeated the very soul of this nation, seeping into the very grassroots.”

The attempt to shame the victim evident in made-up stories of witchcraft is an indicator of the hostility that persists against the minority Christian community in India, he said.

“I know that Sambaru’s sacrifice will not be in vain – only God can bring good out of it, and my prayer is that He will,” Lal said.

Pastor Madkami, 27, who began visiting Kenduguda in 2018 and was leading Sunday and Friday fellowships in Sambaru’s house, said villagers had threatened him many times, telling him to stop visiting their village for prayer and fellowship.

“They planned to attack me several times, but somehow God saved me,” Pastor Madkami told Morning Star News. “I used to be very scared to go to their village. Though our scheduled meetings were on every Sunday and Friday, there were months when I only went twice a month on Fridays, fearing attack from the villagers.”

The church would worship silently, refraining from singing, and he would visit for only 30 minutes and leave immediately, he said.

“The complete village was against the Christian families and threatened them every now and then, trying to force them to leave Christianity,” Pastor Madkami told Morning Star News.

For his part, Pastor Pusuru said he had complained twice at the Malkangiri police station about rising threats against the Christians in the village, without effect.

REMEMBRANCE

“At such a young age, Sambaru had great zeal for God and for ministering to God’s people,” Pastor Pusuru said, in tears.

Pastor Madkami said Sambaru was a great soul.

“Sambaru was my church youth leader,” he said. “He was selected for children’s ministry as well. He would minister to the children whenever he came to my home church.”

Shibu Thomas, founder of advocacy and aid group Persecution Relief, said the murder has exposed the mentality and attitude of religious fanatics today.

“This by far has to be the most disturbing case of Christian persecution that I have encountered in the past four years,” Thomas told Morning Star News. “I am dumbfounded at the brutal nature of the crime.”

Dibakar Parichha, secretary for the Diocesan Commission for Justice Peace and Development from the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, said it is not acceptable that such crimes continue to happen during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The government should take the toughest action towards the perpetrator of the crime so that peace can be brought to the locality,” he said.

Lal said EFI’s Religious Liberty Commission has chronicled at least 10 incidents of persecution against Christians in Odisha state this year.

On June 11, two lawyers from the Human Rights Law Network visited Sambaru’s family, as well as the two other targeted Christians, and recorded their statements. The HRLN team aided by local lawyers expects to petition the High Court of Odisha for a high-level inquiry into the case.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on April 28 urged the U.S. State Department to add India as a “Country of Particular Concern” to its list of nations with poor records of protecting religious freedom.

India is ranked 10^th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The country was 31st in 2013, but its position has worsened since Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014.

How Bad Is It Out There? Looters Are Now Looting From Other Looters

Do you have to go to "looting school" to learn this stuff?  It is not that difficult to smash a few store windows and grab a few things, but some of the incidents that we have witnessed over the last several days have been so bizarre that it is hard to believe that they are actually real.  

In fact, if they were put into a big Hollywood disaster movie at lot of people would probably dismiss them as "unrealistic".  But it is very important to understand what is going on out there, because these looters are giving us a preview of coming attractions.  If they will sink to such depths now, what will they be willing to do once things get really, really bad in this country?

There are so many examples that I could share with you, but I think that I will start with the looters in Fairfield, California that decided to use a telescopic forklift to break down the doors of a Best Buy store...

A particularly brazen attempt by looters to storm a store in Fairfield, California, has been caught on video, showing them commandeering what appears to be a telescopic forklift to force their way in. A video has emerged showing vandals using heavy equipment on the doors of the Best Buy store in Fairfield, a city in Solano County, located between San Francisco and Sacramento. I suppose that the moral of this story is that you should never leave a telescopic forklift sitting around where looters might find it. Now that criminals have seen how much they can get away with, they are going to become more emboldened than ever, and the entire west coast is going to be a major danger zone for the foreseeable future.

In the East Bay area, police say that "caravans of cars full of looters" have been roaming around systematically searching for targets.  Authorities have been trying to crack down on these caravans of looters, but that has proven to be quite difficult because many of them are heavily armed.

Elsewhere in northern California, one group of looters just pulled off an absolutely stunning heist that is like something out of a "Fast and Furious" film..Police in Northern California are searching for suspects after rioters reportedly stole more than 70 premium cars from a dealership near San Francisco Sunday night.

San Leandro Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealership owner Carlos Hidalgo said that although he blocked the exits as a precaution, the thieves "started ramming, ramming until they could get out. They took out chains and fence posts. It was a very malicious act," FOX 2 in Oakland reported. This means that at least 70 looters must have descended upon that dealership simultaneously, because each of those vehicles would have required a driver.

If you stop and try to envision what that must have looked like, it will send a chill up your spine.

Of course it isn't just the west coast that is dealing with such over the top criminality.  The following is how Rachel Olding described the crazy looting that we just witnessed in Midtown Manhattan... Hard to describe how rampant the looting was tonight in Midtown Manhattan and how lawless it was. Complete anarchy. Literally hundreds of stores up and down Broadway, Fifth Ave, Sixth Ave. Kids ruling the streets like it was a party. These are the stores where the Wall Street elite shop.

If law enforcement authorities can't even keep that area secure, do you think that any city in the entire country is truly safe at this point? And some of these looters are not exactly "impoverished".  In fact, the New York Post is reporting that some of the looters were pulling up to the stores "in luxury SUVs"...

New York City looters were caught on camera pulling up in luxury SUVs -- including what was claimed to be a pricey Rolls-Royce -- before apparently looting an upscale retail store in Manhattan, according to footage shared on social media.  The video, filmed by Justine Miller and Keith Feldman, shows a group of men in masks hopping out of two cars and charging through a smashed door in Soho before running back outside carrying boxes of goods on Monday night.

I honestly don't know what the police in New York City were doing. They had to know that the luxury retail outlets in Midtown Manhattan would be prime targets, and yet this was allowed to happen anyway.

Down in Philadelphia, the looting has been absolutely insane.  Just yesterday, I discussed the fact that looters were allowed to loot one drugstore for 15 hours straight.  Elsewhere in the city, one very ambitious looter ended up dying in a botched attempt to blow up an ATM machine... A looter has been killed in a botched ATM explosion in Philadelphia, that police believe was part of a 'coordinated' effort to raid 30 machines across the city over a series of two nights.

Police said the 24-year-old man died early Tuesday, several hours after attempting to break into an ATM with explosives in the north of the city. Needless to say, bank robbery has nothing to do with justice for George Floyd.

All over America, thousands upon thousands of criminals are using the George Floyd protests as an opportunity to commit crimes, and the fact that it is happening on such a widespread basis is extremely sobering. At this point, things have gotten so crazy that looters are even looting from other looters.  The U.S. is descending into madness, and many people believe that this is just the beginning. Of course all of this rampant lawlessness is deeply alarming millions upon millions of ordinary citizens, and a lot of people are deeply concerned that this sort of behavior could start spreading into the suburbs and beyond.  In fact, Polk County Sheriff Judd Grady has publicly acknowledged that in his county "some folks were threatening to take their criminal conduct into the neighborhoods"...

Grady said the department "had received information on social media that some folks were threatening to take their criminal conduct into the neighborhoods." "I would tell them, if you value your life, they probably shouldn't do that in Polk County," Grady said. "Because the people of Polk County like guns, they have guns, I encourage them to own guns, and they're going to be in their homes tonight with their guns loaded, and if you try to break into their homes to steal, to set fires, I'm highly recommending they blow you back out of the house with their guns. So, leave the community alone." Hopefully things will start to cool down at least for a while. But many Americans understand that it is just a matter of time before more violence erupts, and so they are preparing to defend themselves and their families.  Gun sales are absolutely soaring, and one shop owner in New York says that he has been so busy that he is literally running out of stuff to sell...

Phones have been ringing off the hook and the line has been wrapped around the building at Coliseum Gun Traders in Uniondale, Nassau County, ever since the coronavirus pandemic began. And now with protests and rioting after the killing of George Floyd, the store has seen another enormous spike in sales. Keeping the shelves stocked has been hard, store owner Andy Chernoff said.

"We started out this week with a fair amount of merchandise. We're running out. Literally running out," Chernoff said. "Never thought I'd say that."

Just six months ago, life in America seemed so "normal", but now everything has changed. All of the anger that has been building up for years is now starting to boil over, and the upcoming election in November is just going to increase tensions even more. So please be very careful out there, because our society really is starting to fall apart right in front of our eyes.

Gunmen Kill 27 in Predominantly Christian Villages in Mali

Attacks by armed gunmen on motorcycles left 27 dead in attacks on three villages in central Mali last week. Many of the deceased were shot or burned alive, the New York Times reports.

The attacks took place over a 24-hour period last week as mainly Islamic Fulani herders killed the predominately Christian Dogon farmers In Bamako. In the first village, Tille, they killed seven people. Then they killed the other 20 civilians the next day in the villages of Bankass and Koro.

The attacks continue a pattern of violence and reprisals after jihadists linked with al-Qaeda siezed the northern 2/3 of the nation in 2012.  French forces pushed back the Islamic militants in 2013, but they have since regained the territory and pushed their influence into Niger and Burkina Faso.

The Mali army fell under heavy criticism for their inability to protect civilians as instances of violence have been on the rise during the last two years. One group that keeps statistics on political violence, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, reported a 90% increase in civilian fatalities in Mali in the first quarter of 2020. This came after Dogon gunmen allegedly killed over 150 civilians last March.

The Barnabas Fund also reported that over 100 men, women, and children died in an attack on a mainly Christian village in central Mali last June.

According to Al Jazeera, 125 peacekeepers with the United Nations mission in Mali have been killed since 2013.

Mali is ranked as the 29th most dangerous countries for Christians, according to the Open Doors USA World Persecution Watch List.

The Unborn Baby 'Bleeds to Death' – Judge Criticizes Court for Upholding Abortion Procedure

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday overturned Kentucky’s ban on a common second-term abortion procedure, although the judges differed greatly in how they described it.

The appeals court, in a 2-1 ruling, affirmed a lower court decision that found the law unconstitutionally placed an “undue burden” on a pregnant woman.

The law, HB 454, banned a procedure that doctors call “dilation and evacuation” (D&E) but pro-lifers label “dismemberment abortion.” It involves dismembering “the living unborn child” and extracting “portions, pieces, or limbs of the unborn child from the uterus,” according to the law’s text.

The court’s majority said a D&E abortion takes place when “physician first dilates the patient’s cervix and then uses instruments and suction to remove the contents of the uterus.” Because the “fetus has grown larger than the cervical opening,” the “fetal tissue separates as the physician draws it through that narrow opening.”

But Judge John K. Bush, in his dissent, described the procedure in gruesome detail, saying he understands why some pregnant women would want the fetus’ heart to be stopped before the procedure begins.

“Dr. Anthony Levantino testified that in a D&E procedure, the ‘[f]etus dies from dismemberment from literally having arms and legs pulled off’; ‘[it] bleed[s] to death,’” Bush wrote. “Another physician, Dr. David Berry, described a D&E procedure in which the doctor ‘pulled out a spine and some mangled ribs and the heart was actually still beating.’

“... It is not difficult to understand why a majority of women would want the heart to stop beating before the fetus undergoes such an ordeal. As the Supreme Court has recognized, ‘No one would dispute that, for many, D&E is a procedure itself laden with the power to devalue human life.’ This is because ‘[t]he fetus, in many cases, dies just as a human adult or child would: It bleeds to death as it is torn limb from limb,’” Bush wrote, quoting a 2000 decision by former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Bush added, “[A] woman, even after hearing of the health risks involved, might opt for fetal demise simply to be assured that the fetus was not alive when its limbs were torn apart.”

Bush was nominated by President Trump. The two judges who voted in the majority, Judges Eric L. Clay and Gilbert S. Merritt, were nominated by Presidents Clinton and Carter, respectively.

9 Signs Of The End Times That Are Unfolding Right In Front Of Our Eyes

Global events are beginning to spiral out of control, and this has created a resurgence in interest in what the Bible has to say about "the last days".  Throughout the Scriptures, we are warned about apocalyptic events that will precede the second coming of Jesus Christ, and a lot of people are wondering if that period of time is now upon us.  

All over the Internet, people are engaging in all sorts of speculation and lots of really bizarre theories are being thrown around, and this is causing a great deal of confusion.  But all of this confusion is not necessary, because the Bible is actually very clear about what is coming. Jesus had quite a bit to say about the time just before His return, and He specifically instructed His followers to watch for certain signs.  He wanted us to understand that He knew about all of these things in advance, that He has a plan, and that He is in control. So there is no need to fear.  In fact, Jesus told us these things so that we would not be afraid.

Three of the key chapters where Jesus discusses the events of the last days are Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.  To set the stage for the rest of this article, let me share just three quick verses from Luke 21... 9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Could it be possible that we have entered a time when these things are starting to be fulfilled?

To answer that question, let's examine some of the global events that are currently unfolding...

#1 Wars And Rumors Of Wars

War is coming to the Middle East, and it might be coming a lot sooner than most people think.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is very eager to annex portions of Judea and Samaria before the U.S. election in November, and the coalition agreement that he reached with Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz allows him to do that as early as July.

I believe that it will happen at some point in the coming months, and the Palestinians are openly warning that such a move will mean war.  In fact, Mahmoud Abbas is so upset about this pending annexation that he just publicly backed out of all previous agreements with the United States and Israel...

In an emergency meeting in Ramallah Tuesday, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas announced that due to Israeli plans to annex parts of Judea and Samaria, all agreements with Israel and the U.S. are null and void. This would include the Oslo Accords, which was the basis for the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. And Jordan's King Abdullah just told a German newspaper that annexation "would lead to a massive conflict with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan"...

In an interview with the German newspaper Der Spiegel, the Jordanian monarch reiterated that a two-state solution was the "only way forward" as a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

"What would happen if the Palestinian National Authority collapsed? There would be more chaos and extremism in the region. If Israel really annexed the West Bank in July, it would lead to a massive conflict with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan," said Abdullah. This is something to keep a very close eye on, and we also need to keep in mind that a major war between Israel and Iran could erupt at literally any moment as well.

#2 Earthquakes

Our planet continues to become increasing unstable, and my regular readers know that I am particularly concerned about the west coast of the United States.  It is just a matter of time before "the Big One" hits California, and this week we did see two very alarming quakes strike just off the California coast... The first measured at a 4.7 magnitude. It hit at 11:56 p.m. Sunday about 163 miles west of Eureka.

The second earthquake was stronger, measuring a 5.5 magnitude hitting in the same area about 160 miles west of Eureka at 12:02 a.m. Monday. The second quake was at the same depth as the first earthquake at about 6 miles down.

Overall, there have been 2,668 earthquakes in California and Nevada over the last 7 days, and that is definitely unusual. Meanwhile, large earthquakes continue to strike other areas of the globe with frightening regularity.  For example, a magnitude 6.2 quake just rocked the Mediterranean Sea, and that made headlines all over the globe.

In the days ahead, the shaking is only going to get worse, but most people don't understand what is happening.

#3 Volcanoes

I have written about Mt. Popocatepetl near Mexico City many times, and it has roared to life once again. In fact, it is being reported that it was shooting hot ash 20,000 feet into the air on Wednesday. Keep a very close eye on this volcano, because someday a catastrophic eruption of Mt. Popocatepetl will result in the worst disaster in the history of Mexico. Of course Mt. Popocatepetl is far from alone.  According to Volcano Discovery, 24 volcanoes around the globe are erupting right now, and dozens more are showing signs of unrest.

#4 Crazy Weather Patterns

You may have noticed that global weather patterns have gone absolutely nuts. We are seeing record setting droughts in some parts of the world, in other areas we are witnessing unprecedented flooding, and global food production has been greatly disrupted by one unforeseen event after another.

For instance, this week India and Bangladesh are preparing for Super Cyclone Amphan to make landfall.  On Monday night, that storm "officially became the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal"... Millions of people in India and Bangladesh are bracing for what is now being called the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal. Super Cyclone Amphan is anticipated to make landfall in less than 36 hours, bringing destructive winds and heavy rain to a region already struggling with the coronavirus pandemic.

According to CNN, Super Cyclone Amphan officially became the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal on Monday night, after intensifying with sustained wind speeds of up to 165 miles per hour. Even though Amphan has weakened slightly the storm is still the equivalent of a Category 3 Atlantic hurricane, with winds speeds up to 115 mph.

#5 Armies Of Locusts

Billions of locusts have been traveling in giant swarms the size of major cities across large portions of Africa, the Middle East and Asia.  These mammoth swarms can travel up to 90 miles a day, and when they descend on a farm they can eat all of the vegetation in as little as 30 seconds.

I have written about these enormous locust armies numerous times, and they keep making headlines all over the world.  This week, video of these locusts "blocking out the sun in Iran" was being widely shared on social media...

Terrifying footage of an apocalyptic swarm of locusts blocking out the sun in Iran has emerged after it was revealed the military could be called to fight a plague that may destroy at least $7billion (£5.7bn) worth of crops.

The chilling video shows a haze formed of millions of the bugs covering the horizon on a motorway in the south of the country.

#6 African Swine Fever

Before COVID-19 came along, African Swine Fever was the most serious pestilence affecting the planet. There is no vaccine, there is no cure, and it is killing pigs all over the globe at a staggering rate. In fact, approximately half the pigs in China and approximately one-fourth of all the pigs in the entire world have already been wiped out by this disease.

Needless to say, this is having a tremendous impact on the global food supply, because much of the world relies on pig meat as a primary source of protein.

#7 Famines And Food Riots

You know that things are bad when even the United Nations is using the word "biblical" to describe the famines that are beginning to emerge around the globe. The head of the UN World Food Program, David Beasley, is publicly warning that we are heading into "the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two", and he is telling us that we could soon see approximately 300,000 people literally starve to death every single day.. "If we can't reach these people with the life-saving assistance they need, our analysis shows that 300,000 people could starve to death every single day over a three-month period", he upheld. "This does not include the increase of starvation due to COVID-19". We have already witnessed very large food riots in Africa, and now they are starting to happen in South America.

For example, check out what just happened in the capital of Chile... The coronavirus hit Chile at a particularly delicate time. Back in October, the Chilean military deployed tanks and troops onto the streets of Santiago - the Chilean capital - and President Sebastian Pinera declaring a state of emergency to quell a violent uprising triggered by - of all things - a hike in metro fares (can you imagine that happening in NYC?).

Now, some of the nation's poorest are rising up against the government again in a violent protest movement over the lack of government assistance. Specifically, food shortages have left thousands of Chileans with nothing to eat, and the mandatory closures have made it impossible for them to work or buy food. Global food supplies have gotten very tight, and they are only going to get tighter in the months ahead.

#8 Economic Collapse

Countries all over the world have locked down their economies in 2020 due to fear of COVID-19, and that has plunged the entire global economy into a deep depression. Here in the United States, more than 36 million Americans have already lost their jobs, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says that the real rate of unemployment in the United States is now 30.7 percent, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is projecting that U.S. GDP will fall by 42.8 percent during the second quarter of this year.

Now that our economic bubble has burst, the dominoes are just going to continue to tumble, and the days ahead are looking quite bleak.

#9 The Coronavirus Plague

This is the greatest public health crisis in a hundred years, and it looks like this pandemic is going to be with us for many months to come.

Already, there have been more than 5 million confirmed cases around the world and more than 300,000 people have died.  Many had been hoping that the worst was behind us, but the head of the WHO just told us that Tuesday was the worst day for new cases "since the outbreak began"... "We still have a long way to go in this pandemic," Tedros said at a briefing in Geneva. "In the last 24 hours, there have been 106,000 cases reported to WHO - the most in a single day since the outbreak began. Almost two-thirds of these cases were reported in just four countries."

Jesus specifically warned us that there would be "pestilences" during the time before His return, and I believe in the future we will see even worse pandemics than this one. In fact, many of the signs that I discussed above will get worse in the days ahead.  Just as birth pains increase in frequency and severity as the time for birth gets closer, we should expect many of the signs that Jesus warned about to increase in frequency and severity as well. But even in the midst of all the chaos that is coming, God will be moving, and I believe that the greatest revival in all of human history is still ahead of us.

Teach Your Kids to Love the Bible Today

We all hope our children will love the Lord the way we have grown to. Baking with them is a brilliant way to help His love and goodness come alive to them.

According to The International Bible Society, the Bible has been around well over 3,000 years. In these last 3,000 years it has drastically transformed hearts, nations, governments and history. Although the Bible is physically old, God’s word does not have an expiration date or lose effectiveness over the years. Instead, it gains momentum and power with each passing year.

In fact, Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

If you’ve experienced the transformative nature of God’s Word in your own life, there’s no doubt you would want your children to have the same hunger in their lives.

The Word of God is something we can all anchor our lives to. Since we as parents cannot guarantee our children won’t face hardship, we can only trust that properly equipping them with His Word will give them a firm foundation to stand on.

THE BIG QUESTION IS, HOW CAN WE HELP OUR CHILDREN CULTIVATE A LOVE AND PASSION FOR THE BIBLE?

With so many distractions like electronics and social media pulling for children’s attention in this day and age, how can we get our children to see the magnitude and importance of the Bible?

There is no easy answer, but when I found my own love for the Bible it reminded me of baking in the kitchen with my mom. Gathering all the ingredients and reading over the recipe for instruction. Just as we read the recipe and use the measuring cups to produce a delicious result, we also read God’s word as our ultimate guide and we hold His Word up as our measurement to produce a beautiful life.

As you embark on the journey of baking with your children in the kitchen it is better to go into it knowing there will be a mess. Yes, they will most likely end up stirring furiously and spilling powdery mix outside of the bowl. They might crack the egg on the counter, but it is all about the learning process.

WHEN WE ARE GUIDING OUR CHILDREN TO LEARN ABOUT THE BIBLE IT IS BEST TO LEAVE ROOM FOR MISTAKES.

If we constantly got mad at our children every time they spilled the batter outside of the bowl they would not want to bake with us anymore. It is more important to create open communication with our children for moments to share life and our love for God.

In Proverbs 34:8 it says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” When someone tastes the word of God for themselves they can see it is sweet and good. When we have an open relationship with our children it builds those “taste and see” moments.

It is no wonder Jesus is referred to as the bread of life. He and His Word are something to encounter and experience. Similarly, when pouring the batter while baking, the delightful smell and gooey appearance will inevitably warrant little hands in the batter for taste testing. When our kids see God working in our lives it will cause the same curiosity for them to want to reach their little hands out for God’s goodness.

ULTIMATELY OUR KIDS WANT OUR TIME. THEY WANT TO BE AROUND US AND ENJOY THE THINGS WE ENJOY.

In an article by The Stream, author Bob Hartman shares about his father’s love for cars, which led to his own love for cars. In Bob’s words, “My dad didn’t talk about cars because he thought it was ‘good for us.’ He didn’t sit us down and say, ‘It’s car time, kids. Pay attention.’ He talked about cars because he loved cars. He couldn’t help it.” As parents, our love for God’s word should be so genuine and strong that we can’t help but share about it.

Deuteronomy 4:9 says, “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

OUR TESTIMONY IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL KEYS WE CAN GIVE OUR CHILDREN.

Show your children in real-time from your own life what Jesus has done for you. Often times our legacy is bound up in our words. They are the stories that are never told, the goodness of God that does not get professed.

Deuteronomy is a strong declaration and warning to never forget what God has brought us through and to. And most importantly, to tell your children of these things so they never forget. When your kids understand that the Bible is a storybook full of testimonies and triumphs, they can better connect how your story and their story play a part.

ULTIMATELY OUR KIDS WANT OUR TIME. THEY WANT TO BE AROUND US AND ENJOY THE THINGS WE ENJOY.

In an article by The Stream, author Bob Hartman shares about his father’s love for cars, which led to his own love for cars. In Bob’s words, “My dad didn’t talk about cars because he thought it was ‘good for us.’ He didn’t sit us down and say, ‘It’s car time, kids. Pay attention.’ He talked about cars because he loved cars. He couldn’t help it.” As parents, our love for God’s word should be so genuine and strong that we can’t help but share about it.

Deuteronomy 4:9 says, “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

OUR TESTIMONY IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL KEYS WE CAN GIVE OUR CHILDREN.

Show your children in real-time from your own life what Jesus has done for you. Often times our legacy is bound up in our words. They are the stories that are never told, the goodness of God that does not get professed.

Deuteronomy is a strong declaration and warning to never forget what God has brought us through and to. And most importantly, to tell your children of these things so they never forget. When your kids understand that the Bible is a storybook full of testimonies and triumphs, they can better connect how your story and their story play a part.

U.S., 17 Other Countries Launch First-Ever International Religious Freedom Alliance

 In one of the first international efforts to champion religious freedom, leaders from the United States and several other countries will gather in Washington D.C. this week for the first meeting of the new International Religious Freedom Alliance.

The alliance falls under the leadership of U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, as reported by The Christian Post.

“I have not seen this type of organization or push on a human rights that I am aware of before,” said Brownback. “This is the first effort really to get a group of nations that will be the activist on a particular human right to try to champion and pursue that cause more aggressively.

“We will be looking at things we can work collectively on and [how] we can push for religious freedom efforts around the world. We are excited about the countries and their enthusiasm.”

So far, 17 countries have confirmed their membership to the alliance, though Brownback hopes that number rises. The names of the countries have yet to be disclosed.

Requirements for membership are high, according to Brownback. The alliance welcomes countries who have shown a strong commitment to religious freedom in their history.

“The United States pushes [religious freedom] but we need other allies to push it too,” Brownback said. “The fortunate thing is that it isn’t going to be just us. It is going to be a group of nations to push on this.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo first announced the alliance at the second annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, according to World. Trump continued to advertise the group at the United Nations General Assembly in September, despite the previous circulation of rumors that Trump was considering cutting the total number of refugees, including persecuted Christians, allowed into the U.S. to nearly zero, Politico reports.

As part of the initiative, Brownback traveled to Rome earlier this year to meet with the Abrahamic Faiths Initiative, which is a coalition of Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders.

“One of the key statements that came out is that this group is committed to resolutely declare that religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and extremism,” Brownback said.  “Unfortunately, much of the world looks at religion as the cause of wars. This group and the people they are working with see religion as an instrument of peace. They want to make it that way.”

Solar Minimum Could Bring Drastic Changes to Our Planet    

At a time when the world is already being hit with major crisis after major crisis, our sun is behaving in ways that we have never seen before.  For as long as records have been kept, the sun has never been quieter than it has been in 2019 and 2020, and as you will see below we are being warned that we have now entered "a very deep solar minimum".  

Unfortunately, other very deep solar minimums throughout history have corresponded with brutally cold temperatures and horrific global famines, and of course this new solar minimum comes at a time when the United Nations is already warning that we are on the verge of "biblical" famines around the world.  So we better hope that the sun wakes up soon, because the alternative is almost too horrifying to talk about.

Without the sun, life on Earth could not exist, and so the fact that it is behaving so weirdly right now should be big news.

Sadly, most mainstream news outlets are largely ignoring this story, but at least a few are covering it.  The following comes from Forbes...While we on Earth suffer from coronavirus, our star--the Sun--is having a lockdown all of its own. Spaceweather.com reports that already there have been 100 days in 2020 when our Sun has displayed zero sunspots. That makes 2020 the second consecutive year of a record-setting low number of sunspots.

And here is what the New York Post is saying...Our sun has gone into lockdown, which could cause freezing weather, earthquakes and famine, scientists say.

The sun is currently in a period of "solar minimum," meaning activity on its surface has fallen dramatically. Experts believe we are about to enter the deepest period of sunshine "recession" ever recorded as sunspots have virtually disappeared. Yes, covering COVID-19 is important, but the fact that scientists are warning that we are potentially facing "freezing weather, earthquakes and famine" should be deeply alarming for all of us. And since the mainstream media has been largely silent on this crisis, most Americans don't even know that it exists.

Last year, there were no sunspots at all 77 percent of the time, and so far this year there have been no sunspots at all 76 percent of the time..."This is a sign that solar minimum is underway," reads SpaceWeather.com. "So far this year, the Sun has been blank 76% of the time, a rate surpassed only once before in the Space Age. Last year, 2019, the Sun was blank 77% of the time. Two consecutive years of record-setting spotlessness adds up to a very deep solar minimum, indeed."

So why is this such a big deal?

Well, every once in a while a very deep solar minimum that lasts for several decades comes along, and when our planet has experienced such periods in the past the consequences have been quite dramatic.

For example, the New York Post is claiming that NASA scientists fear that we could potentially be facing "a repeat of the Dalton Minimum"... NASA scientists fear it could be a repeat of the Dalton Minimum, which happened between 1790 and 1830 -- leading to periods of brutal cold, crop loss, famine and powerful volcanic eruptions.

Temperatures plummeted by up to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over 20 years, devastating the world's food production. Even worse would be a repeat of the Maunder Minimum which stretched from 1645 to 1715.  It came as the globe was already in the midst of "the Little Ice Age", and it caused harvest failures and famines all over the globe...

The Maunder Minimum is the most famous cold period of the Little Ice Age. Temperatures plummeted in Europe, the growing season became shorter by more than a month, the number of snowy days increased from a few to 20-30, the ground froze to several feet, alpine glaciers advanced all over the world, glaciers in the Swiss Alps encroached on farms and buried villages, tree-lines in the Alps dropped, sea ports were blocked by sea ice that surrounded Iceland and Holland for about 20 miles, wine grape harvests diminished, and cereal grain harvests failed, leading to mass famines. 

The Thames River and canals and rivers of the Netherlands froze over during the winter. The population of Iceland decreased by about half. In parts of China, warm-weather crops that had been grown for centuries were abandoned. In North America, early European settlers experienced exceptionally severe winters.

Of course this would be an exceptionally bad time for such a cataclysmic climate shift, because African Swine Fever has already wiped out approximately one-fourth of all the pigs in the world, colossal armies of locusts the size of major cities are systematically wiping out crops across much of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and fear of COVID-19 is greatly disrupting global food supply chains. In fact, it is being reported that widespread shutdowns of meat processing facilities in the United States may force farmers to euthanize "as many as 10 million hogs by September"...

U.S. pork farmers may be forced to euthanize as many as 10 million hogs by September as a result of production-plant shutdowns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the National Pork Producers Council. At least 14,000 reported positive COVID-19 cases have been connected to meatpacking facilities in at least 181 plants in 31 states as of May 13, and at least 54 meatpacking facility workers have died of the virus at 30 plants in 18 states, according to an investigation by the Midwest Center for Investigative reporting.

Even if the sun suddenly started acting perfectly normal once again, we would still be facing what the UN is calling "the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two".  Global food supplies are getting tighter with each passing day, and many are warning that some areas of the globe will soon be dealing with severe food shortages. What we really need are a few years of really good growing weather, but the behavior of the sun may not make that possible.

So let's keep a very close eye on the giant ball of fire that we are revolving around, because if it remains very quiet that could mean big trouble for all of us.

Majority in U.S. Believe 'God Is Telling Humanity to Change How We Are Living' Through COVID-19

More than eight in 10 Americans say they believe in God, and a majority of them say they think “God is telling humanity to change how we are living” amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to a new survey.

A total of 82 percent of Americans confess a belief in God, with most of them (80 percent) saying they believed in God before the pandemic and 2 percent saying their belief in God developed after the pandemic, according to the survey by the University of Chicago Divinity School and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Among Americans who believe in God, 63 percent agree with the statement that “God is telling humanity to change how we are living” (31 percent agree strongly and 31 percent say they “somewhat” agree with the statement).

Additionally, 55 percent of those who believe in God say they think “God will protect me from being infected.”

Only 9 percent of those who believe in God think “God has abandoned humanity.”

Seventeen percent of Americans say they don’t believe in God.

Among all Americans – not just those who believe in God – about 52 percent say, “God is telling humanity to change how we are living.”

Meanwhile, 26 percent of Americans say the outbreak has made their “sense of religious faith or spirituality” stronger, while 1 percent say it’s now weaker. Most Americans (73 percent) say it’s the same.

Among other findings in the survey:

• A majority of Americans (51 percent) say they or someone in their household has experienced “some” loss of income due to the outbreak, while around one-third (31 percent) say they or a house member has experienced a “significant” income loss.
• One-third (32 percent) say they or a member of their house has been laid off.
• 11 percent say they or someone in their home has lost health insurance.
• 14 percent say they, a close friend or relative has been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

The poll of 1,002 adults was conducted April 30-May 4.

Mississippi Church Pushing Back against Lockdown Orders Is Burned to the Ground in Suspected Arson Attack

On Wednesday morning, a Mississippi church was burned to the ground.

First Pentecostal Church in Holly Springs, Mississippi was engulfed in flames on Wednesday in what is believed to be an act of arson, Fox 13 reports.

Investigators noted that the church had been spray painted with graffiti following an explosion towards the front of the building.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves expressed that he was distraught over the incident.

“I am heartbroken and furious. In Mississippi, a church was just burned to the ground. They had been trying to open services,” Reeves tweeted Thursday.

“There was graffiti on the lot which read ‘Bet you stay home now you hypocrites.’ What is this pandemic doing to us? We need prayer for this country,” he wrote.

Thomas More Society senior counsel and lawyer for the church Stephen Crampton told Fox News on Thursday that the church parking lot had been spray-painted with the following message: “I bet you stay home now you hypokrits.”

Prior to the incident, the church had been in a legal battle with local authorities over lockdown measures.

According to WLBT, the city of Holly Springs does not consider churches essential businesses, despite the state’s governor declaring they are.

“It is very clear local municipalities can have guidelines that are more strict (sic) than the governor’s guidelines, but they cannot have guidelines that directly conflict with what we have put in place,” Reeves stated at a news conference Wednesday.

Pastor Jerry Waldrop, who has been leading First Pentecostal for 31 years, filed a lawsuit against the city of Holly Springs back in April.

The lawsuit came after Holly Springs issued a citation to the pastor for holding church services indoors. At the time, only drive-thru services were permitted. Additionally, the suit notes that police interrupted a mid-week Bible study and the church’s Easter service.

According to the lawsuit, the church managed to conduct its services outside, but in the face of inclement weather, services were moved indoors while maintaining social distancing guidelines.

A temporary restraining order has also been included in the complaint to keep the city from stopping the church from holding indoor services.

Crampton noted in a statement that there is “a growing hostility towards churches” such as First Pentecostal who are pushing back against lockdown orders, Fox News reports.

"We're in a time where I don't think it's any secret that there's a growing hostility toward churches, across the board," Crampton said. "And now, here are churches like First Pentecostal that are sort of stirring up the waters by being outspoken and somewhat firm about seeking to protect their Constitutional rights."

"They've had bad comments [directed at them] on social media,” he added. “There is just a segment that takes issue with the church standing up, and the church just being the church."

While Pastor Waldrop remains unsure as to who started the church fire, he asserted that the church will be rebuilt.

“We have the means, so whatever it takes, that's what we will do,” Waldrop said, according to Fox 13. “We have a tight group that's been faithful, so whatever means are necessary, that is what I will do,” he concluded.

Beyond COVID-19: Russia, China Nuclear Threat Grows

Now that 184 countries are grappling with the medical and economic convulsions of China's CCP coronavirus that seems to have originated in a bio-warfare laboratory in Wuhan, what other catastrophes might be headed our way, especially ones we have been forewarned about?

What if America's adversaries might start to believe that because the US has a Covid-19 crisis on its hands, the nation might be distracted and vulnerable, so that now might be a good time to strike? If such adversaries think the US does not have a strong deterrent, does that make it an even more tempting target?

Last month, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said that by the end of 2020, Russia will have modernized 87% of its nuclear arsenal, up from its current 82%.

Many Americans might shrug it off and say that the Russians are simply being their normal selves, just like the Soviets, year after year, building and modernizing their nuclear weapons.

Many Americans might also assume that the United States would be keeping up to make sure that the Russians were not about to get the nuclear drop on the US, right? The United States, in fact, remains considerably behind the Russians. For nearly three decades after the end of the Cold War, a euphoric United States stopped taking nuclear deterrence seriously. The current administration, therefore, inherited a nuclear deterrent 40-50 years old. Its submarines had first been deployed in 1981, its B-52 bomber cruise missiles in 1982, and its Minuteman land-based missiles in 1970.

At present, exactly zero percent of America's nuclear platforms are modernized. This dangerous "procurement holiday" dates back to the end of the Cold War in 1991, when leaders in the West presumably imagined that modernized systems would no longer be needed. The problem is, presidents and Congresses have been warned. The US has known for some time that the Russians are fully modernizing their nuclear weapons. The US has also been aware that the Russians were increasing the role of nuclear weapons in their security strategy, and had also adopted a policy of "escalate to win." In this strategy, the Russians would use, or threaten to use, nuclear weapons early in a crisis, based on the assumption that in face of such threats, the United States would stand down.

Several years ago, for example, the Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, the senior U.S. military officer responsible for nuclear strategy, General John Hyten, told Congress that by 2020, the Russians would have fully modernized at least 70% of their nuclear arsenal.

Hyten not only warned about the Russia's new "escalate to win" policy; he also took stock of the fact that while the United States had decided -- belatedly -- to modernize its nuclear forces, it was still nearly 15 years away from fielding its first modernized nuclear platform. Regrettably, not everyone in Congress and the nuclear disarmament community listened. For many in politics, after all, it was assumed that the U.S. would "reset" relations with Russia and nuclear threats were happily diminishing toward a "global zero."

Worse, when, in 2017, General Hyten, (now Vice Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff), warned of the Russian threat, a common counter-narrative in the U.S. arms control community -- and shared by some members of Congress -- was that simply by proposing to modernize a then-rusting nuclear deterrent, the United States was "leading an arms race." Even these critics, however, had to know that it takes years to research, develop, test, and then build highly complex nuclear forces, so that no new U.S. nuclear deployments would even be able to start until 2029.

An ideological attachment to the arms control catechism of the day, particularly among the advocates of "global zero," trumped any common-sense support of the potential necessity, even to use as a deterrent, for U.S. nuclear modernization.

Instead, what many disarmers proposed was the elimination of more than half of U.S. nuclear armed submarines, and 100% of America's land-based nuclear missiles and air-launched nuclear cruise missiles -- all eliminated unilaterally, without the Russians reducing anything. In 2018, nuclear critics in the Democratic party, now in the House majority, called for the unilateral "roll back" of the entire ICBM leg of the US nuclear Triad (land, sea and air) to curtail a supposedly "overly aggressive nuclear strategy" by the Trump administration. The proposal appears intended to prevent a presumed "expansion" of the US nuclear arsenal.

Ironically, the Trump administration's nuclear modernization effort at that time was nearly identical to the Obama administration's effort: keeping America's nuclear forces strictly within the New START Treaty limits. The Trump administration's policy at the time did not seek to expand the U.S. arsenal by even a single nuclear warhead.

Even today, however, despite Russia's confirmation that its nuclear forces are nearly fully modernized, and that the new U.S. modernization effort may not be putting new forces in the field until 2029, the same nuclear critics still do not seem to understand the strategy of deterrence: if you look disarmed and easy to overrun, you are inviting aggression, but if you do not look easy to overrun, people might think twice before attacking you. 

Former President Ronald Reagan called it, "Peace through strength". It was how, in large part, by building up the US nuclear arsenal and promising subsequently to build robust missile defenses, he induced the Soviet Union, unable to keep up, to collapse. Even so, one unilateral disarmer inexplicably wondered recently if the current U.S. planned nuclear modernization effort might somehow open "the door to an expensive nuclear arms race".

This critic may be unaware that Russia has already completed 87% of its arms race while the US is just putting on its track shoes. The door to an arms race was opened long ago -- but by Russia, not the United States.

Sputnik News reports:

"Russia's nuclear forces have received or are in the process of receiving a series of new weapons in recent years, including the RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, the Avangard hypersonic boost-glide vehicle, and the Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic cruise missile. The maritime leg of the country's nuclear triad has seen the deployment of the new Borei class of strategic missile submarines equipped with R-30 Bulava ballistic missiles. Russia has also upgraded its fleet of Tu-95MS 'Bear' and Tu-160 'White Swan' bombers, increasing their range and capabilities and equipping them with new cruise missiles."

The current U.S. administration is fully aware of the Russian challenge and has robustly funded a U.S. nuclear deterrent. The modernization plan was approved by Congress -- although there is a worrisome emerging decline in the margin of support.

Without nuclear modernization, unfortunately, the United States cannot keep a credible nuclear deterrent against its nuclear armed enemies -- not only Russia but also China, whose nuclear arsenal is scheduled to double in the next decade, according to the Defense Intelligence Agency. It is widely anticipated that the scope of U.S. nuclear deterrent modernization might be a debate topic this election year.

Some members of the House and Senate, may again push unilaterally to reduce much of America's nuclear arsenal to a level even as low as 20% of Russia's current deployed nuclear arsenal. U.S. lawmakers may also again push to require that Congress must first approve any presidential decision to use nuclear weapons, thereby making a timely U.S. response to a surprise enemy nuclear attack virtually impossible. Still other members of Congress may push to pass a new legal requirement that the United States pledge not to use nuclear weapons, even if the country was attacked and suffered millions of casualties from enemy biological, chemical, or cyber weapons.

Is this, then, the right time for the U.S. to stop nuclear modernization or hamstring its nuclear deterrent strategy? History illustrates how deadly being unprepared to face real threats can be, as in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the terrorist attacks of 9-11 or the coronavirus pandemic.

However serious these events were, most people probably know how much worse the outcome would be if an adversary initiated the use of nuclear weapons against the United States. By now, the U.S. should know that its nuclear-armed adversaries are serious about using nuclear weapons -- either straightforwardly or for coercive leverage -- if they think they can get away it and avoid painful retaliation. The only sensible plan, therefore, is for the United States to maintain a nuclear deterrent second to none, to deter not only the threat of nuclear weapons but their straightforward employment, should it come to that.

In the election this November, Americans face a choice -- whether to continue with the planned modernization of America's nuclear forces, or yet again to kick nuclear modernization down the road and again pretend that nuclear threats -- that are potentially existential to the United States -- do not in fact exist.

Survey Shows Faith Can Prosper in Online Services

(RNS) — As houses of worship remain closed due to shelter-in-place orders across most of the United States, and significant numbers of them stream their worship services online, clergy and others are no doubt asking how well virtual delivery is feeding the faith of their members. 

Some answers can be had from a Pew Research Center (via the Roper Center) survey conducted April 20-26, in which Americans were asked about their religious faith and how their houses of worship have reacted to the changes brought about by  COVID-19.

The first bit of good news is how many people said their houses of worship were able to go online. Of those affiliated with a religious tradition, 81.2% indicated that their house of worship had shifted to broadcasting services over the internet.

Even better from the clergy’s point of view is that their members who have gone online report a larger growth in faith than those whose services have not moved to online streaming. Of those who had moved online, 42.4% said that their faith had grown stronger. For those without an online service to watch, the share of those who said that their faith had grown was a more modest 30.9%. Only very small shares of either group said that their faith had gotten weaker because of COVID-19.

It’s perhaps little surprise that the beneficial effect of online worship is especially true for those who attended services most frequently before the pandemic. At almost every attendance level, those who had said that their house of worship was streaming services online more likely to say that their faith grew than those who had no online viewing option. In most cases, the difference was 10 percentage points.

The survey also allayed fears that age or economic disadvantages have created large demographic disparities when it comes to accessing streaming services. For instance, those who are 65 and older were just as likely to say that their institution was streaming services as the youngest respondents in the sample. Only African Americans as a group were slightly less likely to say their churches were online, compared with white and Hispanic respondents.

There are some differences based on education. More highly educated respondents were 6 points more likely to have streaming services compared with those with a high school diploma or less. Evangelical churches were nearly 10 points more likely to go online than Catholic parishes.

So while a furor builds about reopening churches sooner rather than later, it’s worth bearing in mind that in our current situation many houses of worship are still providing spiritual care for their members and many have benefited from virtual services, especially for their regulars.

Baseball Player Blake Bivens Says Bible Helped Him Stay Strong following Brutal Murder of His Wife, Son

Minor league baseball star Blake Bivens has opened up about the death of his wife and young son. Speaking at The River Church in Danville, Virginia, Bivens, who plays in the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization, revealed how he found out about his family’s deaths via social media while waiting for a flight.

“First headline I see is two females and a small child were gone," Bivens said, according to ESPN. "I immediately knew that was them. I found out my family was gone over a Facebook headline. I just immediately began to scream in the middle of the airport.''

Blake’s wife Emily Bivens and his 14-month-old son, Cullen Bivens, had been shot dead, along with his mother-in-law Joan Bernard. Emily’s brother, 19-year-old Matthew Thomas Bernard is accused of murder, though he is unfit to stand trial at this time due to mental illness.

Speaking candidly to the church congregation, Blake recalled the raw shock that followed such brutal and life-changing loss. "I think the hardest moment for me was when I got home and I walked in my son's bedroom for the first time and realized I was never going to see him on this Earth again,'' he said. "That was the worst moment in my life. Nothing ever will come to being, to feeling the way I felt at that moment. Then again, I know I will see him again one day, and it won't be long.''

Incredibly, the Christian baseball pitcher said that in his lowest moments of loss and grief, the Bible offered him tangible hope; when the darkness was thick and unbearable, he remembers turning to John 16:33 and receiving the promise that God is always in control.

“When I read, 'Take heart, for I have overcome the world,' it changed, it completely flipped a switch in my heart," he recalled. "And from that moment on I knew that this was not going to beat me, this was not going to beat family. I was going to live in victory the rest of my life, and I was going to use this as a testimony to show what he has done for me he can also do for others.”

"That moment for me was one of the biggest moments where I just knew God was with me, and the only thing I knew to do was just laugh in the enemy's face, because he thought he had won,” Bivens added. “But all he's done is awoken a sleeping giant and as long as I'm here on this earth, every day I wake up my goal is to pile-drive him right in the face every morning when I get up.'”

Blake said he still deals with many traumatic memories of that horrible day; but despite this, and even in the midst of such searing pain, he is assured that with God, there is always hope for the future. “It's unbelievable how much I can vividly remember from the day," he said. "And it's kind of unbelievable to see how far things have come from that day also."

New Report on World's Worst Religious Freedom Violators   

The report is 104 pages -- but it tells a thousand stories. For young women like Mary Mohammadi, sentenced to flogging and more time in prison, the one hope she has, apart from Jesus, is here in the United States. 

Her prayer -- like so many others in Nigeria, North Korea, China, India, Iran, and elsewhere -- is that Americans step in and stop the suffering. For 21 years, one commission's goal has been to do exactly that. There are nine of them -- different people with different backgrounds, different faiths, united by one belief: religion is no excuse for oppression. Every spring, after months of meeting with leaders overseas and shaking the hands of brave survivors like Mary, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which Tony Perkins chairs, calls out the worst offenders of faith-based persecution in the world. 

Together, they pour over the events of the last 12 months, measuring countries on the severest of scales. If their violations to religious liberty are "systematic, egregious, and ongoing" then they're recommended as a country of particular concern (CPC). This year, 14 nations -- each a symbol of anguish for tens of millions of people -- qualified. Fifteen others were just shy -- but worth including, they believed, on a special watch list.

For all of the misery this document represents, there were some rays of hope. In Sudan, where Tony visited a couple of months ago, the developments have been unexpectedly positive. The African country, one of many who appeared on the list since it started, suddenly finds itself under a transitional government that is at least open to the idea of religious tolerance. 

After his delegation met with the prime minister, they were pleasantly surprised with how receptive he was to USCIRF's recommendations -- like revising the local public-school curriculum to make it more friendly to faiths. In many ways, Sudan is a great example of how influential this administration's agenda has been. Now that President Trump and State Department Secretary Mike Pompeo have prioritized religious freedom, other countries seem more anxious to get in line. They sense that America is paying attention in a way that it hasn't before. And that's resulted in changes that, an administration ago, never seemed possible.

On the flip side, there are places where evil isn't so easy to uproot. As FRC's Arielle Del Turco pointed out, North Korea is -- and has been -- among the world's worst, if not the worst, religious freedom violator of the modern age. Christians there have absolutely no freedom at all. "Any expression of faith will land you in a prison camp. And it could land your family in a prison camp as well. 

Even something as simple as being caught with a Bible." When defectors are caught by the Chinese and sent back, Arielle explains the first questions they're asked are, "'Did you encounter Christianity? Did you meet any Christians?' And if the answer is yes, they are going to be treated much more harshly in these prison camps... This is not a new development, but the fact that it remains even in 2020 is a huge problem and we need to be paying more attention to it than we already are."

Then, unfortunately, there are the unexpected backsliders like India -- a democratic nation, at least in theory, consistently moving in the wrong direction. Ironically, as Arielle mentioned on "Washington Watch," "Indian leaders are always very defensive about their record on religious freedom. 

But really, the religious freedom situation has deteriorated rapidly over the course of the last year -- they really don't have too much to argue with here." Indian laws have been ruthless on religious minorities, specifically Muslims, but also there's also been mounting mob violence from the ground up. "And this mob violence is often inspired by the Hindu nationalist rhetoric of the current Hindu nationalist party that rules India... And frankly, these leaders have not done enough to condemn these attacks. Sometimes their rhetoric even incites it. And they just look the other way when there are attacks."

In places like Nigeria, the jihadi attacks are building a bloody legacy. FRC's Lela Gilbert talked about some of the harrowing massacres taking place as the Fulani tribe burns and kills its way through the villages, yelling "Allah Akbar!" For Christians and non-Muslims, it wasn't enough to deal with one enemy -- Boko Haram. Now they have to cope with two. "We know what the Islamic State is all about," Lela says. "They're very violent. They love to make videos now of beheadings," and with Boko Haram, "it's the same pattern."

"They go into these poor villages... in the middle of the night during darkness, and they just start slaughtering. They kill the men. They take the women. They rape the women. They take the young women and the young girls and boys kidnap them and hold them for ransom or whatever, put them into slavery... And yet, there hasn't been much done about either of these groups in Nigeria, which is a big problem for us... This is why we keep bringing it up -- because it's getting worse. It's not getting better."

That's where the Trump administration comes in. As anyone in the international religious liberty community knows from meeting with the president, these are problems he takes seriously. If his foreign policy team has to be more aggressive with the countries USCIRF identifies as abusers, he's not afraid to use the leverage he has. 

Religious freedom -- around the world and here at home -- is a top Trump priority. And for all of the Mary Mohammadis in the world, this is the hope: that America will use every tool in its chest to uphold it.

'Major Breakthrough': Israel Unveils Coronavirus Treatment Ready for Production

Israeli scientists searching for an antidote for the coronavirus announced a major advancement Monday in a joint statement with the Ministry of Defense.

Scientists at the Israel Institute for Biological Research said they had isolated a key coronavirus antibody and developed a “monoclonal neutralising antibody” that “can neutralise” the coronavirus “inside carriers’ bodies,” Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said in the statement, according to Reuters.

Bennett visited the research facility Monday and was briefed on a “significant breakthrough in finding an antidote for the coronavirus,” the statement said.

“I am proud of the Biological Institute staff, who have made a major breakthrough,” Bennett said. “The Jewish creativity and ingenuity brought about this amazing achievement.”

The research team has completed the development phase and is seeking a patent, the statement said. After it is patented, the Israel Institute for Biological Research will seek a “contract for its commercial development,” The Jerusalem Post reported.

The antibody is the latest positive development in the battle against the coronavirus.

Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said last week he believes it’s possible to have hundreds of millions of doses of a coronavirus vaccine ready for the general public by January. It’s part of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed project.

“I think that is doable if things fall in the right place,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pfizer announced Tuesday it has begun human trials on a vaccine against the coronavirus. It is working with German pharmaceutical company BioNTech.

“With our unique and robust clinical study program underway, starting in Europe and now the U.S., we look forward to advancing quickly and collaboratively with our partners at BioNTech and regulatory authorities to bring a safe and efficacious vaccine to the patients who need it most,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. “The short, less than four-month time frame in which we've been able to move from preclinical studies to human testing, is extraordinary.”

Biblical Scholar Says COVID-19 Is 'Very Serious Foreshadowing' of the End Times

A biblical scholar says the coronavirus pandemic is “very serious foreshadowing” of the End Times.

Mark Hitchcock, who has written more than 30 books on biblical End Times prophecies, says Scripture tells of plagues in the End Times, The Christian Post reports.

He pointed to Luke 2:11, Revelation 6:8 and the prophecy of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.

“In fact, Scripture tells us these plagues will kill 25% of the people in the world. It’s literally going to be biblical proportions,” he said.

Hitchcock told The Christian Post that he doesn’t believe COVID-19 is one of the plagues referred to in the Bible, but it is a “preview of what’s coming.”

“It’s a wake-up call for people to come to Christ in light of what's coming in the future, which is going to be far worse,” he said. “It’s a very serious foreshadowing of what’s to come.

“I think it reveals the globalism of today. One person in China got this sometime in the fall and now it's in some 190 countries. It’s also a picture of how small our world is today and how things are set up for the world ruler, the Antichrist, who is coming. I see just a lot of foreshadows and previews in the coronavirus, but I don't see this as a fulfillment of a specific prophecy.”

He also emphasized that there is no way to know when Jesus will return.

“But I do think it should create within us a sense of urgency to be right with God and to tell others the Good News so that they, too, can be right with God.

He added that people should trust God in these “uncertain” times.

“People are saying, ‘Things now are so uncertain.’ Well, the idea of certainty and control that we think we have is really an illusion,” he said.

“We need to look up and gain that perspective when things are happening down here on the Earth. Christ is going to come back someday, and He's going to make this world new," he said.