Friday Church News Notes Feb 11, 2022
The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, though this does not imply an endorsement.
MAINSTREAM MEDIA’S LEFTIST AGENDA – The global mainstream news media is in a conspiracy to control the news according to a Leftist, Humanist, Globalist, anti-Christ, anti-Bible narrative, which makes perfect sense in light of Bible prophecy and the operation of the mystery of iniquity. A recent example is the near blackout of a Johns Hopkins University study that finds that the Covid lockdowns were ineffective to save lives but instead have caused massive social, mental health, and economic damage. “The researchers–Johns Hopkins University economics professor Steve Hanke, Lund University economics professor Lars Jonung, and special advisor at Copenhagen’s Center for Political Studies Jonas Herby–analyzed the effects of lockdown measures such as school shutdowns, business closures, and mask mandates on COVID-19 deaths. … ‘We find little to no evidence that mandated lockdowns in Europe and the United States had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality rates,’ the researchers wrote. ‘However, lockdowns during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic have had devastating effects. They have contributed to reducing economic activity, raising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence and undermining liberal democracy,’ the study reported. … ‘These costs to society must be compared to the benefits of lockdowns, which our meta-analysis has shown are marginal at best. Such a standard benefit-cost calculation leads to a strong conclusion: Lockdowns should be rejected out of hand as a pandemic policy instrument’” (Fox News, Accuracy in Media; The Western Journal). Since it so obviously opposes totalitarianism, it is no surprise that this top-flight scientific report has been ignored by CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Reuters, and many other major news sources. This is a dark world, but there is also much truth lighting the darkness by God’s grace. I’m thankful for the continued liberty in America and its lively free press compared to most nations. There are massive numbers of Christian, Biblical, and politically conservative publications both in print and online. Lies and censorship will not stop the gospel. Multitudes will be saved even during the very reign of the Antichrist (Revelation 7:9-17). Lies and censorship will not stop God’s eternal plan to put Jesus Christ on the throne of this world. “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Psalm 2:1-6). God’s redeemed people are instructed to set their affections on things above and to keep their hands busy with God’s big work in this world, and those who obey don’t have time to become experts in all things covid and to fret about conspiracies.
FINNISH BISHOP AND POLITICIAN FACE TRIAL FOR TEACHING BIBLICAL TRUTH ABOUT MALE AND FEMALE – The following is excerpted from “Finnish Bishop,” Christianity Today, Jan. 3, 2022: “Johana Pohjola, 49, and politician Päivi Räsänen, 62, are facing criminal charges … accused of violating the equality and dignity of LGBT people. Though Finland has legal protections for free speech and the free exercise of religion, Prosecutor General Raija Toiviainen says Räsänen and Pohjola’s actions are criminal incitement against a minority group–hate speech. According to the prosecutor, Räsänen has fueled intolerance and contempt of LGBT people three times: in comments she made on a nationally syndicated talk show on Finnish state-supported radio; in a 2019 tweet where she quoted Romans 1:24–27 to criticize the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF)–one of Finland’s two national churches–for its affiliation with Helsinki Pride; and in a 23-page booklet that Räsänen wrote titled Male and Female He Created Them. Pohjola is being charged for publishing Räsänen’s booklet, which argues against same-sex marriage, contrasts LGBT identities with the Christian notion of what it means to be human, and describes same-sex attraction possibly as being inherently sinful and possibly the result of a ‘negative developmental disorder.’ It was released in 2004 by Luther Foundation Finland, the legal entity behind the ELMDF. … [Pohjola] says, ‘I do not so much fear the outcome of the court case, but the strong signal it gives to many: to be silent. I fear self-censorship and intimidation.’”
LOUISVILLE PAYS $75K SETTLEMENT TO POLICEMAN SUSPENDED FOR PRAYING OUTSIDE ABORTION CLINIC – The following is excerpted from “Louisville Pays,” Christian Headlines, Feb. 1, 2022: “A cop was awarded a $75,000 settlement by the city of Louisville, Kentucky, after he was suspended for attending a prayer vigil outside an abortion clinic. Last October, officer Matthew Schrenger filed a complaint against Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Erika Shields and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer after he was suspended for praying outside of a closed abortion clinic last February while off duty. Schrenger and his father were attending a prayer vigil under the ‘40 Days for Life’ campaign, where a prayer vigil was held outside EMW Women’s Surgical Center. Last Thursday, Thomas More Society, the conservative legal nonprofit who represented Schrenger, confirmed that a settlement had been reached. Thomas More Society Senior Counsel Matt Heffron called Schrenger’s punishment hypocritical because other Louisville police officers attending political marches or demonstrations were never disciplined. … ‘He was treated very differently than other officers who had undeniably engaged in true political protest and activism while participating in LGBT and Black Lives Matter demonstrations,’ Heffron noted.”
PROMISE KEEPERS WARNS ABOUT PORN AND CALLS ON MEN TO BE SPIRITUAL LEADERS OF THE HOME, THE CHURCH, AND THE NATION – Promise Keepers peaked in the 1990s and no longer has massive stadium events, but it still exists as an organization. The new chairman, Ken Harrison, is calling on men to avoid pornography and to be the spiritual leaders that the homes, churches, and nations need. At the live-streamed Promise Keepers Marriage Summit, Harrison said, “[Some men tell me that when it comes to pornography] they can’t help themselves and God created them to be that way. I say, ‘no no no.’ God didn’t create you to be that way. God created you to have an intense longing for your wife. For the two to become one flesh. Sin created that same longing for every other woman. The Bible says we must flee from sin. It’s an action. It’s a running in terror from it, because it will separate us from God, from our kids, from our wives. … men think that they have to live their lives laden down with lustful thoughts and lust. I’m telling you that you don’t. The Bible didn’t tell you to flee from lustful desires when it couldn’t actually happen. You can’t get there in your flesh, you can’t get there by trying harder, you can’t get there by feeling guilty, but you can get there by giving your life over to Christ. … Those people who are making that movie are not doing it because they’re your friends. They’re doing it because every time you click on a mouse, they make more money to exploit more women. … Even with all the problems that people are having in marriage today, marriage is the safest relationship on Earth. You have a 100% chance of success in marriage when you do it God’s way.” At the same event, Pastor Samuel Rodriguez said, “Healthy marriages produce healthy families, healthy families assimilate and make up healthy churches, healthy churches produce healthy communities, a healthy community will produce a healthy state, a healthy state will be part of a healthy nation” (“Promise Keepers,” The Christian Post, Jan. 12, 2022). CONCLUDING NOTE: All of this is true as far as it goes, and it needs to be preached in every church. At the same time, Promise Keepers can’t solve the most fundamental issues, because they don’t know what a true New Testament church is. They don’t preach repentance and a clear gospel of regeneration. They don’t believe in the Bible’s doctrine of apostasy. If they did, they couldn’t possibly call for ecumenical unity among all churches, including Rome, as they have done from their inception. Evangelicalism preaches some truth and therefore is enticing, but evangelicalism doesn’t preach the whole truth and therefore is dangerous. There are additional reports about Promise Keepers at the Way of Life web site, www.wayoflife.org.
GOD’S LIVING ERROR-CORRECTION SYSTEM – The following is from CreationMoments.com, January 18, 2022: “It seems like science fiction to suggest that if someone typed your name into a computer, misspelling your name, the computer would find it and correct it. Yet the genetic code within each of your cells is an even more sophisticated information storage and transmission system. Not only does your genetic code store far more information in a microscopic space than our largest computers can, it has a built-in error correction system. Scientists have found a number of key enzymes in the cell that have just one job—find and correct errors in the genetic code. Those errors can creep in because of radiation, chemicals, or other reasons. These enzymes faithfully correct any errors, preventing mutations. But these are the very ones scientists thought could cause evolution—before they discovered this process. One scientist who studied these enzymes said science has no explanation for how this process could have evolved naturally. Scientists also say they don’t know how life could have continued without this genetic proofreading and correction. Only our Creator could have been wise enough to design an information system that can correct errors within itself. Even we human beings have not figured out how to do this with our [smartest] computers. Asking us to believe that blind chance and natural law could have done it certainly strains the credibility of science! Author: Paul A. Bartz. REF: Fersht, A.R. 1980. Trends in Biochemical Science, v. 5. p. 282. Lambert, G.R. 1984. Journal of Theoretical Biology, v. 107. p. 387.”
CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).
(Friday Church News Notes, February 11, 2022, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143
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