Choose this day

Ron Ross | The passionate contest between the Palestinian Fatah-Hamas factions moved into a new phase this week when Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian Authority chairman) announced elections for January 24, 2010.

Hamas and Fatah have failed to achieve any common ground despite the intervention of arbitrators from Egypt. Had they achieved success the election would have been scheduled for next June.

United Kingdom: Religious Liberty Fading Fast              

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin, Elizabeth Kendall | In London, England, in the 1370s, John Wycliffe suffered intensive persecution for daring to protest for biblical truth. In 1415 John Hus was burnt at the stake in Prague, Bohemia, for doing the same. On 31 October 1517 a German monk named Martin Luther risked martyrdom and worse -- the Inquisition -- when he launched his protest for biblical truth: salvation by grace through faith, not merited by works. He sought reform but got division, and the Protestant Church was born. Religious liberty and the revival of biblical theology brought many positive consequences to the societies that embraced it. As a result, 31 October has traditionally been remembered as Reformation Day. But as Protestant prosperity grew, so too did the rot of pride and arrogance. Before long, Protestant societies were not only forgetting God and the truths that gave liberty to their positive energies and made them great, but 'in pride and arrogance of heart' (Isaiah! 9:9b) were rejecting God and his word as irrelevant.

Russia-Iran: Key Players in the Nuclear Countdown

Ron Ross | For centuries many churches discarded Israel as ‘old news.’ Major denominations embraced what is known as ‘replacement theology’which left the biblical curses with Israel but accepted the promised blessings to the Church.

Such theological gymnastics overlooked the fact that Jesus is Jewish and will return to Jerusalem as the Lion of Judah. There we are told, He will ‘judge the nations.’ Hmmm! I wonder what THAT means?

Pakistan: Islamic fundamentalists target Christians                

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin, Elizabeth Kendall | Christians in Pakistan are suffering escalating and intensifying persecution. Writing in Pakistan's 'Daily Times' (21 September), commentator Syed Mansoor Hussain said he believed recent attacks on Christian communities are part of a new strategy by Islamic fundamentalist organisations. The Taliban has lost a lot of grassroots support through its widespread killing and repression of Muslims. So now the fundamentalists are inciting their militants to launch Islamic campaigns specifically targeting Christians. This fires up Islamic zeal and keeps the radicalised followers engaged whilst not threatening or offending the general Muslim population.

Testifying to the Power of God that Restores, Rebuilds and Releases

Bev Holmes-Brown | The Directors of Exodus East Asia Ministries, Pastors Jenny Li  and Tryphena Law spoke at a gathering of Sunshine Coast ladies this weekend, encouraging them to trust in God’s incredible transforming power and His ability to heal broken lives.

Both ladies have testimonies of the way the Lord brought them out of a lifestyle of same sex attraction.  They have firsthand insight and experience of the processes of faith, forgiveness and acceptance as a result of their decision to walk closely with Jesus and allow Him to guide them.

Star Athlete’s Legs Crushed in Tiananmen Square Incident, Now He Stands Boldly for Human Rights Freedoms

06/10 Assist News | One of China's star athletes lost his legs defending a fellow student in the Tiananmen Square Uprising twenty years ago.

Later this week he will dance with his wife on a new pair of legs donated by wellwishers here in the United States

A star collegiate sprinter, who qualified to compete in the Olympic Games for China, Fang Zheng's dreams were cut short when he pushed a fellow Tiananmen student out of the way of an oncoming tank, only to have his legs crushed beneath its treads on that fateful day in the Tiananmen Square Uprising on June 4, 1989.

UK: New rules about entering Britain as a preacher or singer have a certain irony

05/10 Assist News | The news that the controversial televangelist Benny Hinn was turned back twice from entering Britain over this past weekend when his personal jet landed first at Stanstead Airport and later, after flying to Paris, turned around and tried again at Luton Airport, both without success, shines a light on Britain’s new laws that affects visiting preachers and even singers

Singers? Yes, Don Francisco, the veteran singer was arrested and then kicked out of Britain for the same “crime” of not having the right papers. On March 1, 2009, Francisco flew to the UK to visit friends and join rehearsals for the production “Why Good Friday?” based on his music and written by Brian Harries. He was detained at Heathrow and then flown back to the states on the grounds that he didn't have the right paperwork. Yet Don had been ministering in the UK for over 30 years

Jerusalem United!

Malcolm Hedding, ICEJ | Benjamin Disraeli, the prime minister of the United Kingdom at the turn of the 20th century, had a special way to take on his detractors who heckled him as a Jew when he rose to speak in parliament. “My people were kings in Jerusalem while you were still scratching around in the fields for mushrooms,” he would say.

The point is, Jerusalem was the Royal House of Israel long before London or Paris had regal palaces, and Berlin or New York even existed. Yet it is these capitals in their arrogance that seek, almost daily, to disinvest the Jewish people from their ancient, biblical claim and connection to Jerusalem.

Untitled from ICEJ on Vimeo.

Thousands of Christian pilgrims arrive to fulfill ancient Succot prophesy

04/10 Jerusalem Post | The voices of thousands of Christian pilgrims worshiping "Yehoshua Christ" echoed for miles over the hills of the Judean Desert late Friday night - the first night of Succot.

Just as the silence of Shabbat was settling over Jerusalem, the pilgrims - representing dozens of nations - came down to the shores of the Dead Sea in a long caravan of buses, wearing Judaic emblems like tzitzit, kippahs, and Stars of David on their clothing and jewelry.

One Christian woman from Brazil, who said she was visiting Israel for the first time, was dressed from head to toe in an outfit tailored from Israeli flags. Sharp blasts from shofars, brought along by enthusiastic worshipers, often punctuated the evening's activities

AUSTRALIA: Training tomorrow's leaders

There is a great need in this nation to assist those students and recent graduates who demonstrate a high potential to become influential leaders for Christ across strategic areas of our nation including politics, law, media, science, education, arts and philosophy.
The Compass program, an eight-day course in Christian worldview, aims to address this need.

The inaugural program kicks off this Sunday with 40 students at the University of Queensland. For more information and to register interest for 2009, please go to www.compass.org.au .

Lyle Shelton
National Chief of Staff , Australian Christian Lobby