Sudan.

January 12, 2017

On Tuesday at Bahri Evangelical Church in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. The man was a local official and once inside he began pulling down a building in the church compound – without explanation or paperwork.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Khartoum, that they will know God’s peace and protection.

Bahri Church is not new to persecution. Other buildings in its compound have been destroyed or damaged since investors ‘bought’ the land in 2013 without the church’s consent.

The church land was ‘sold’ by a committee set up by the Government. This committee was not recognised by the church – or by the courts, which ruled it illegal.

What’s different about this latest attack on the church is that a government official was responsible for it, rather than the investors.

Several members of Bahri Church have been arrested for protesting against the forced sale of church buildings. Pastor Hafez Mengisto was later cleared of charges relating to his attempt to defend his church. Others were convicted of disturbing the peace or obstructing police, and were fined. Release Int.

House of Representatives - Well Done!

House Passes Bill to Ban Federal Gov't Funding for Abortion.

BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would put into law a ban on taxpayer funding of abortion in most circumstances. Christian Post.

Katie Hopkins.

Katie Hopkins: 'Why should Christian countries import the problems of Islam?'

KATIE HOPKINS has said it is not in the interests of the United States to “import the divisions” of the Muslim world, before giving her take on why Christian countries choose to “solve them”.

Hopkins responded: “If Islam is not in a perfect shape – I respect your honesty – and there’s divisions between Sunni and Shia and others, why then would America want to import those divisions?

“Why should America want those divisions on its shores? Why is it always Christian countries that need to import problems to solve them?

By AJAY NAIR. Express.

I Don't Need Anyone To Tell Me My Faults - The Holy Spirit Does That For Me.

Birdies.

Good.

Donald Trump is a bigger threat to the EU than Brexit, says top Brussels official Guy Verhofstadt

Guy Verhofstadt, pictured, the European Parliament's lead Brexit negotiator, the new US President was a 'third front' trying to undermine the EU along with Russian aggression and Islamic extremism. Mail.

Wives Get It Tough In The Bible? - The Calls On Husbands Are Even More Demanding.

Express Readers - Hardly A Great Surprise!

TRUMP POLL: 99 per cent of Express readers AGREE with US President's tough migrant stance.

Spurgeon.

The Art Of War Article And Comments.

http://www.ukipdaily.com/know-enemy-sun-tzu-art-war/

Anxious? - Don't Be!

Francis Chan.

“The irony is that while God doesn’t need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the time.”
― Francis Chan.

Beware Of Hollywood.

http://www.breakpoint.org/features-columns/discourse/entry/15/30370

Old News Just Found - Trying To Find Out What Happened Next.

Lord Shinkwin urges end to 'eugenics' abortion for disability

October 21st, 2016 | Abortion

The second reading of a bill to end abortion up to birth on the grounds of disability passed its second reading in the House of Lords today. Christian Concern.

Egyptian Persecutions.

Christians in the Upper Egypt village of Al-Nagameesh have been left devastated after a mob, armed with petrol bombs, went on the rampage, destroying homes and businesses.

The attack last Friday was apparently triggered by suspicions that local Christians had turned a community centre into a church. That centre was also destroyed by fire.

Pray for our brothers and sisters in Sohag governorate, as they start to rebuild their lives.

The community centre was a focal point for Al-Nagameesh’s Christian minority who gathered there for funerals, weddings and sometimes prayer. There is no church in the village.

Three days before the attack, a local pastor held a ceremony at the centre to mark the first anniversary of his father’s death. The next day, extremists handed out leaflets claiming Christians had turned the centre into a church and urging Muslims to attack it. They cut off the village water supply and blocked firefighters’ routes in advance, so that fires could not be controlled.

Tensions have been made worse by new legislation, passed in August, which has imposed further restrictions on the building of churches in Egypt.

• Pray that God will provide for all those whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed or damaged in this attack.
• Pray that local officials will take firm action to clamp down on extremism and ensure such attacks do not go unpunished.
• Continue to pray that the Government will uphold religious minorities’ rights in practice and throughout the whole of Egypt.

(Sources: Human Rights Watch, Morning Star News)

Heaven: Have You Booked Your Place?

Mole-In-The-Know Has Potential Big News For Stoke By-Election.

Keeping his nose to the ground, whilst burrowing into the corridors of sleaze and power, MITK has picked up a juicy titbit.
It seems that renegade Labourite and former Respect MP in Bradford, George Galloway, is giving much thought to the possibility of standing.

He would certainly reduce the Labour vote! Interestingly, the ones he would attract are amongst the 10% or so of Asian voters, not a particularly strong area for Ukip, and also the hard left - none of whom will vote Ukip.
Looking better for the Ukip leader as every day goes by!

Birdie.

Good Grief! - Lucy Fell Out Of A Tree!

LUCY CLIMBED TREES AND FELL OUT, according to reports in ScienceDaily and New Scientistst 30 November, and PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166095, and ScienceDaily and Science (AAAS) 19 August 2016 News and Nature, 2016; DOI: 10.1038/nature19332. Scientists at University of Texas (UT) Austin have scanned the bones of the original Australopithecus afarensis (“Lucy”) specimen using an X-ray CT scanner which enables scientists to examine the internal structure of the bones. During life bones respond to the forces impinging on them from muscles and body movement, and increase their thickness where the strongest forces are applied. Therefore scientists can assess which parts of the body were most active and had the strongest muscles. A tree-climbing ape will show most strength in the arms and upper body, whilst humans, who walk on two legs, show most strength in the legs and pelvis. Researchers compared the structure of Lucy’s arm and thigh bones with those of chimpanzees and humans and found that Lucy’s bone strength was more like chimpanzees than humans. According to Christopher Ruff, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, who helped analyse the bone scans, the extra bone strength in the arms “would not be present unless Lucy mechanically loaded her upper limbs more than most modern humans”. He went on to comment: “Ours is the best evidence to date that A. afarensis actually spent a significant portion of their time engaged in arboreal behaviour”. (“Arboreal behaviour” means tree climbing.) Lucy is generally claimed to have walked upright on the ground like humans, but the scans on the thigh bone indicate her walking style was different to human walking, in that she had to shift her upper body sideways over the supporting leg when lifting the other one off the ground in order to take a step. This is an inefficient style of walking that uses more energy and is not good for long distance walking. The bone scans not only indicated Lucy spent most of her time moving about in trees, but also that she could have died from falling out of a tree. The bones showed multiple breaks, including a “four-part proximal humeral fracture” of the right humerus. This is a fracture of the upper arm bone near the shoulder caused by landing heavily onto an outstretched arm. There were also cracks in left shoulder, right ankle, knee, pelvis and first rib. According to John Kappelman, one of the University of Texas researchers, these are the “hallmark of severe trauma”. According to Science News, the UT team “calculated that the forces that fractured Lucy’s upper arm were equal to a fall from a height of about 13.7 meters — as high as a four-story building or the top of a tall tree, such as a mature acacia — at a velocity of about 59 kilometres per hour”. The breaks are sharp and show no sign of healing. However, some fossil scientists, including Donald Johansen who was part of the team that found Lucy, are sceptical. Johansen commented: “Terrestrial animals like antelopes and gazelles, elephants and rhinos and giraffes — all these bones show very similar fracture and breakage patterns as Lucy. You can be sure they didn’t fall out of trees”. Paleoanthropologist Tim White of the University of California, Berkeley explained that most breaks in fossil bones are the result of geological processes, e.g. tectonic forces, soil movement, pressure from overlying sediments, and weathering.
Links: New Scientist, Science, ScienceDaily

ED. COM. Since these findings fit with previous studies of Australopithecine bones, which indicate their limb lengths, body proportions and brain size were all ape like, we are not surprised that Lucy had arm and thigh bones suitable for tree climbing rather than bipedal ground walking. It pays to remember the unpopular fact that the original Lucy skeleton does not have feet, in spite of all the claims that Lucy and other Australopithecines walked upright on human-like feet. Any human-like foot bones or footprints claimed to be Australopithecines, have never been found attached to an Australopithecine skeleton, but were classified as such only on the basis of the alleged age of the rock layers they were found in. See our report Lucy Gets a Bone Graft here. The debate about the bone fractures is interesting. It may be a case of both sides are right. The humerus fracture is typical of what occurs from a hard landing on an outstretched arm. Some of the other fractures may have occurred at the same time, and it is possible that Lucy did die following this fall before any healing processes started. Fractures of the first rib are very rare, and are usually associated with severe trauma also involving the neck vertebrae. It is not possible to tell if this happened as the Lucy specimen has no neck vertebrae. Furthermore, fossils do get cracks in them from various earth movements after they have been buried, so some of the breaks may have occurred later. Whatever really happened to Lucy, these two studies of the bones confirm that Lucy was an extinct tree dwelling ape, who like living apes, may have spent some time on the ground, but was no human ancestor. (Ref. southern apes, fossilisation, biomechanics) Creation Research. 

T20 Last Over Finish In Nagpur.

In a game marred by some appalling umpiring, this incredibly absorbing match ended in a win for India - and all credit to the home team - but this encounter was handed over to them on a plate.
 There were three truly atrocious LBW decisions. The first ones had each granted a 'life' to two of the higher order Indian batsmen - the camera showing the ugly truth.
At the end of England's innings, Joe Root was given out to a ball that was too high; was missing leg stump; which had, in any case, already struck the bat!
So the narrowest of wins imaginable - just 5 runs levelled the three match series.
I hope that it is England getting the rub of the green in the series decider on Wednesday!

Burma.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has today written to the Burmese Embassy in London calling for an end to the block on humanitarian aid to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Rakhine and Kachin States.

Additionally, and as part of CSW’s Stop The Block on Aid campaign, a petition signed by Paul Scully MP (Conservative), Valerie Vaz MP (Labour), Jonathan Ashworth MP (Labour), David Burrowes MP (Conservative) and 7,000 members of the public will be sent to the Burmese mission to the United Nations.

Valerie Vaz, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and Labour Member of Parliament for Walsall South said: “A grave human tragedy is unfolding in Rakhine State, Burma, and it is imperative that immediate action is taken to ensure emergency humanitarian aid reaches those who need it. That is why I am delighted to support CSW's campaign and to add my voice to this petition. Action is needed now to save lives”

The death of nine police officers on Burma’s border with Bangladesh in Rakhine State on 9 October, which the Burmese military claimed was an act of terrorism by a small group of Rohingya Muslims, was used as a pretext to launch a military offensive against civilians and has led to the worst human rights and humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State since 2012. On 13 December, the UN reported that out of the 150,000 people who were receiving aid before 9 October, 130,000 people no longer had access to humanitarian aid.

David Burrowes, Conservative Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate, said: “It is essential that the government of Burma act swiftly to prevent further loss of life, by lifting all restrictions on humanitarian aid. It is vital that the world act to put pressure on Burma to prevent further loss of life and allow access to aid. It is also very important to hold an international, independent inquiry into the causes of this current crisis. I am therefore delighted to support CSW’s much-needed campaign and to stand with other Members of Parliament and over 7,000 signatories to the petition in calling for urgent action.”

Both the letter and the petition also call on the Burmese government to initiate an independent inquiry into grave human rights violations in Rakhine State and to introduce policies which combat the root causes of ethnic and religious tension. International media have been denied access to Rakhine State.

Paul Scully, Conservative Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam and co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Burma, who visited Burma with CSW in 2015, said: “We know that there are people being killed, we know that there are people being raped, and we know that people are being displaced, often with their villages being burned down. And that’s why we want more transparency, more openness and we want to allow journalists into the camps in Rakhine state and humanitarian aid to get to those most in need. So we are calling on the government in Myanmar to allow that access, to allow that support from international organizations and journalists”.

At least 30,000 Rohingya Muslims have been internally displaced, and hundreds have died in the violence. Since 1 November, it is estimated that close to 27,000 people have fled to Bangladesh. The 1982 citizenship law does not recognise the Rohingya as a Burmese ethnic group and is one of the root causes of the systematic discrimination of the Rohingya in Burma.

Jonathan Ashworth, Shadow Health Secretary and Labour Member of Parliament for Leicester South, said: "The Rohingyas have suffered intense persecution for too long, and this current humanitarian crisis requires urgent action to stop ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. The Burma Army’s response to the attacks on the border guard posts has been grossly disproportionate, resulting in innocent civilians shot dead, children killed and people at risk of death from starvation and denial of health care. I welcome CSW’s petition and campaign to urge Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s government to lift all restrictions on aid, and to call for an international, independent inquiry into the causes of this current crisis. This emergency has the hallmarks of another Rwanda, Darfur, Bosnia or Kosovo. Action is long overdue.”

In Kachin State, more than 100,000 of the predominantly Christian ethnic Kachin people are in IDP camps. The petition also calls for an end to military attacks in Kachin and Northern Shan State and for immediate unrestricted access to be granted to humanitarian aid agencies in Kachin State.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “Recent events in Rakhine State have brought a long-running humanitarian tragedy into the spotlight. CSW has been campaigning for an end to blocks on aid since the beginning of September and that call is now more urgent than ever. There must also be an inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity, and legislation such as the 1982 Citizenship Law and Section 295 (a) of the Penal Code, which entrench religious and ethnic tension, should be reviewed”.   

Abuses Of Our Foreign Aid.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4056968/Foreign-aid-corrupt-nations-soars-30-year-1-3bn-handed-20-countries-despite-warnings-stolen-seized-terrorists.html

Welcome Advice From Proverbs 3.

Proverbs 3New International Version (NIV)

Wisdom Bestows Well-Being

3 My son, do not forget my teaching,
    but keep my commands in your heart,² for they will prolong your life many years
    and bring you peace and prosperity.

³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name
    in the sight of God and man.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.^[a]

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord and shun evil.⁸ This will bring health to your body
    and nourishment to your bones.

⁹ Honor the Lord with your wealth,
    with the firstfruits of all your crops;¹⁰ then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
    and your vats will brim over with new wine.

¹¹ My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not resent his rebuke,¹² because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
    as a father the son he delights in.^[b]

¹³ Blessed are those who find wisdom,
    those who gain understanding,¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver
    and yields better returns than gold.¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies;
    nothing you desire can compare with her.¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand;
    in her left hand are riches and honor.¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways,
    and all her paths are peace.¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;
    those who hold her fast will be blessed.

¹⁹ By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations,
    by understanding he set the heavens in place;²⁰ by his knowledge the watery depths were divided,
    and the clouds let drop the dew.

²¹ My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,
    preserve sound judgment and discretion;²² they will be life for you,
    an ornament to grace your neck.²³ Then you will go on your way in safety,
    and your foot will not stumble.²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
    when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.