A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – The federal government barreled toward a partial shutdown Monday as the Democrats in Congress dug in their heels in a battle of political wills with President Trump and his Republican allies on Capitol Hill.

The Democrats are demanding relief from deportation for illegal immigrants who participated in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program as part of a deal to keep the lights on in Washington. It’s risky; the party in the White House tends to win shutdown fights, as Republicans learned in 2013 and previously.

But the Democrats are confident. They are convinced the uproar over Trump’s denigration of immigrants from Haiti and certain African nations by referring to them as coming from “shithole countries” has given them the upper hand in the debate. [ SourceL Washington Examiner (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Following a weekend false alarm that a missile was on its way to Hawaii, Pastor Franklin Graham used the event as a teaching tool on eternity.

In a Facebook post, he asked users, “What would you do if you only had 20 minutes to live? Would you call on the name of God? Would you ask for forgiveness of your sins? would you contact your loved ones?”

“I’d probably spend the last 20 minutes with family and devotional time with Jesus,” Greg Gerald replied. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – When Hindu extremists in India told pastor Karma Oraon they would not stop beating him until he worshipped the monkey god, he felt Christ close to him, he said.

“In those moments when they were kicking and beating me, I felt that even if I die now, the Lord will make the ministry I leave behind fruitful,” Pastor Oraon told Morning Star News. “We are just a few gathering in the name of Jesus. He is our strength.”

His small flock of eight people was meditating on Scripture on Christmas Eve at 10:30 a.m. in Harmu village of Ranchi District, Jharkhand state, when twice as many Hindu nationalists brandishing wooden stick intruded, shouting, “Praise Bajrang Bali.” Bajrang Bali is another name for the popular monkey god Hanuman. [ Source: Morningstar News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The U.S. House of Representatives has the opportunity to pass a pro-life bill this Friday, on the day of the March for Life, but which one will it be?

H.R. 490, the Heartbeat Protection Act of 2017, bans the abortion of a baby when a heartbeat is detected.

Fetal heartbeats start at 21 days, and around six weeks into pregnancy they can usually be measured, according to LifeSiteNews. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Palestinian leaders voted on Monday to call for the suspension of recognition of Israel, and to suspend security coordination with Israel, as they met in response to US President Donald Trump’s acknowledgment of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The vote ordered the Palestine Liberation Organisation to suspend its recognition of the Jewish state until Israel “recognizes the state of Palestine,” cancels its annexation of East Jerusalem, and stops settlement activity, a statement said.

It was unclear if the vote by the Palestinian Central Council, a high-ranking arm of the PLO, was binding, and a final decision is likely to rest with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. A previous vote by the council in 2015 to suspend security coordination with Israel was never implemented. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Britain’s Royal Air Force scrambled two fighter jets to intercept Russian strategic bombers near U.K. airspace on Monday, in another illustration of ongoing tensions.

The RAF confirmed that it sent Typhoon aircraft from the Lossiemouth base in Scotland on a “quick reaction alert” as two Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack bombers approached Britain.

“The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea,” the air force said. “At no point did the Russian aircraft enter sovereign U.K. airspace.” [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to destroy a 30,000-man border security force in Syria, trained and equipped by Washington, characterizing it as a “terror army” designed to infringe on the country’s sovereignty in the region.

During a vitriolic speech in Ankara Monday, Mr. Ergodan lashed out at the burgeoning security force and America’s continued military support for Kurdish separatist groups in Syria tagged as terrorist organizations by Turkey.

“A country we call an ally is insisting on forming a terror army on our borders. What can that terror army target but Turkey?” Mr. Erdogan said, referring to the new Syrian security force and the NATO alliance shared between Ankara and Washington. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]