Monday, October 8, 2012
Greg Laurie Answers 'Why All This Chaos in Middle East?'
IRVINE, Calif. – Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship church took the opportunity during his Sunday sermon series on the book of Revelation to talk about the current events in the Middle East as it relates to Bible prophecy. He also pointed to the controversy during the Democratic National Convention over the party's vote on including Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in its platform as highly ironic.
"It seems like every time you turn around there's another outbreak of violence or at least a threat of one," Laurie said during last Sunday's sermon shared at his two Southern California churches in Riverside and Orange County. "Iranian president Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for the destruction of both the nation Israel and the United States and recently stood before the members of the U.N. speaking of an Islamic messiah and a new world order that is coming. Haven't I heard this before?"Laurie then described events in the Middle East that were perhaps misinterpreted by some people at first.
"Of course, we all know [about] that tragic attack against our embassy in Libya by terrorists in a pre-planned attack on the anniversary of 9/11 and the murder of ambassador Chris Stevens," the pastor, also known for his evangelistic Harvest Crusades, said. "We know it was pre-planned because of the heavy weaponry they brought in and the fact that they knew where his safe house was that he fled to and then killed him in cold blood.
"If you thought the war on terrorism was done wake up, because after these riots broke out the crowds were chanting for the benefit of the cameras, 'Take a picture Obama. We're all Osama.' So it doesn't end with the killing of Osama bin Laden. It continues on."
Laurie continued, "Then, there's the Arab Spring and many thought that was going to change the climate in the Middle East, but instead of it being a hopeful sign we found it to be a Trojan horse for Islamic extremism through the so-called Muslim Brotherhood."
World food prices near crisis levels
World food prices rose in September and are moving nearer to levels reached during the 2008 food crisis.
The United Nations food agency reported on Thursday that the worst drought in more than 50 years in the United States had sent corn and soybean prices to record highs over the summer, and, coupled with drought in Russia and other Black Sea exporting countries, raised fears of a renewed crisis.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) price index, which measures monthly price changes for a food basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, rose 1.4% in September, mainly due to higher dairy and meat prices.
"It's highly unlikely we will see a normalisation of prices anytime soon," said FAO senior economist Abdolreza Abbassian.
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The United Nations food agency reported on Thursday that the worst drought in more than 50 years in the United States had sent corn and soybean prices to record highs over the summer, and, coupled with drought in Russia and other Black Sea exporting countries, raised fears of a renewed crisis.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) price index, which measures monthly price changes for a food basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, rose 1.4% in September, mainly due to higher dairy and meat prices.
"It's highly unlikely we will see a normalisation of prices anytime soon," said FAO senior economist Abdolreza Abbassian.
READ MORE
US Warns of Threat to Female Missionaries in Egypt
The U.S. embassy in Cairo has issued a warning to U.S. women
Christian missionaries of the dangers of terror attacks they face in the
mostly Muslim Egypt.
In a statement on its website, the embassy says it has credible information suggesting terrorist interest in targeting U.S. female missionaries.
It asks U.S. citizens to exercise vigilance and take necessary precautions to maintain their personal security. It also urges them to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP, which makes it easier for the U.S. diplomatic personnel to contact them in case of emergency.
Christians comprise 10 percent of Egypt's population of 83 million. They regularly complain of discrimination and marginalization in the mostly Muslim country. Right groups say Christians have also been the target of sectarian violence.
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In a statement on its website, the embassy says it has credible information suggesting terrorist interest in targeting U.S. female missionaries.
It asks U.S. citizens to exercise vigilance and take necessary precautions to maintain their personal security. It also urges them to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP, which makes it easier for the U.S. diplomatic personnel to contact them in case of emergency.
Christians comprise 10 percent of Egypt's population of 83 million. They regularly complain of discrimination and marginalization in the mostly Muslim country. Right groups say Christians have also been the target of sectarian violence.
READ MORE
App Lets Every Day Joes Become High-Tech Missionaries
New apps for smart phones arrive daily--some by the hour--to bring
fun games, traveling tools, and convenient tips. But Jesus Film Media
has brought a new kind of app to share the gospel through videos in over 1,100 languages directly on your device.
The Jesus Film Project introduces Jesus Film Media, a free app that lets anyone with an Android or iOS device access to the complete library of The Jesus Film Project--some 66,000 video clips.
"Film provides a way to casually engage in conversation about spiritual topics. We hope the app will spark spiritual conversations and connect more people with the life-changing message of Jesus," said Erick Schenkel, executive director of The JESUS Film Project.
READ MORE
The Jesus Film Project introduces Jesus Film Media, a free app that lets anyone with an Android or iOS device access to the complete library of The Jesus Film Project--some 66,000 video clips.
"Film provides a way to casually engage in conversation about spiritual topics. We hope the app will spark spiritual conversations and connect more people with the life-changing message of Jesus," said Erick Schenkel, executive director of The JESUS Film Project.
READ MORE
Are Cities Passing These Laws to Unfairly Target the Poor & Homeless?
COSTA MESA, Calif. (TheBlaze/AP) — Army veteran Don Matyja was
getting by alright on the streets of this city tucked in Southern
California suburbia until he got ticketed for smoking in the park.
Matyja, who has been homeless since he was evicted nearly two years ago,
had trouble paying the fine and getting to court — and now a $25
penalty has ballooned to $600.
The ticket is just one of myriad new challenges facing Matyja and others living on the streets in Orange County, where a number of cities have recently passed ordinances that ban everything from smoking in the park to sleeping in cars to leaning bikes against trees in a region better known for its beaches than its 30,000 homeless people.
Cities have long struggled with how to deal with the homeless, but
the new ordinances here echo what homeless advocates say is a rash of
regulations nationwide as municipalities grapple with how to address
those living on their streets within the constraints of ever-tightening
budgets. The rules may go unnoticed by most, but the homeless say they
are a thinly veiled attempt to push them out of one city and into
another by criminalizing the daily activities they cannot avoid.
There’s been a sharp uptick in the past year in the number of cities passing ordinances against doing things on public property such as sitting, lying down, sleeping, standing in a public street, loitering, public urination, jaywalking and panhandling, said Neil Donovan, the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless.
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The ticket is just one of myriad new challenges facing Matyja and others living on the streets in Orange County, where a number of cities have recently passed ordinances that ban everything from smoking in the park to sleeping in cars to leaning bikes against trees in a region better known for its beaches than its 30,000 homeless people.
There’s been a sharp uptick in the past year in the number of cities passing ordinances against doing things on public property such as sitting, lying down, sleeping, standing in a public street, loitering, public urination, jaywalking and panhandling, said Neil Donovan, the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless.
READ MORE
Suspense mounts ahead of Nobel Prize announcements
This year's Nobel prize season kicks off Monday with rumours suggesting
the peace prize could go to Egypt's Maggie Gobran for helping Cairo's
poor, Afghan burka opponent Sima Samar or US scholar Gene Sharp.
The first Nobel to be announced this year will be the medicine prize on Monday, when the jury in Stockholm reveals the winner or winners around 11:30 am (0930 GMT.)
Like every year, most of the speculation in the run-up to the announcements focuses on who will take home the prestigious peace and literature prizes.
Betting sites have become a popular feature of the guessing game in recent years, with gamers sometimes curiously accurate amid suspicions of leaks from within the award committees.
This year, Coptic Christian Gobran, dubbed the "Mother Teresa" of Cairo's slums, tops the list of one betting site for the peace prize, with 6.5-to-one odds ahead of the October 12 announcement.
But that race looks wide open this year with no clear frontrunner among the 231 nominees.
Although the peace prize committee never discloses the nominees' names, former US president Bill Clinton, ex-German chancellor Helmut Kohl, the EU and WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning are known to be on the list.
READ MORE
The first Nobel to be announced this year will be the medicine prize on Monday, when the jury in Stockholm reveals the winner or winners around 11:30 am (0930 GMT.)
Like every year, most of the speculation in the run-up to the announcements focuses on who will take home the prestigious peace and literature prizes.
Betting sites have become a popular feature of the guessing game in recent years, with gamers sometimes curiously accurate amid suspicions of leaks from within the award committees.
This year, Coptic Christian Gobran, dubbed the "Mother Teresa" of Cairo's slums, tops the list of one betting site for the peace prize, with 6.5-to-one odds ahead of the October 12 announcement.
But that race looks wide open this year with no clear frontrunner among the 231 nominees.
Although the peace prize committee never discloses the nominees' names, former US president Bill Clinton, ex-German chancellor Helmut Kohl, the EU and WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning are known to be on the list.
READ MORE
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