Worthless or Priceless
I was driving my son to the sheltered workshop for the
handicapped
where he works a few days each week. My seventeen year old car was cruising
along while the Spring sun shined down. The trees were budding and flowers
were
popping up along the side of the road. I looked over at my son who was
humming
along to a song on the radio. He turned his head, smiled and said, " I love
you
Daddy." I smiled back and said, "I love you too son."
The green light ahead turned yellow and I slowed to a stop.
Suddenly, a gold Mercedes Benz screeched to a halt next to me. The owner was
yelling into a cell phone and slammed his hand on the steering wheel as he
glared at the now red light. After a minute the light changed and he sped
away
with a scowl as big as his face. I drove on shaking my head and said a
little
prayer that the owner of that expensive car would one day realize the true
treasures in life.
That miserable man in the Mercedes reminded me again of the
worthlessness of wealth and the pricelessness of love in the eyes of
eternity.
All of his money hadn't put a smile on his face. All of his things hadn't
given
him peace. All of his wealth hadn't filled his heart with happiness or
brought
meaning to his life. He seemed lost, separated from love, and separated from
God. He was trapped in a golden cage and didn't even know it. Please don't
spend
your life in the pursuit of the worthless "fool's gold" that our society
holds
dear. Don't try to gain the whole world and in the process lose your soul.
Instead spend your days here building "the Treasures of Heaven" in your
heart.
If you do then your days will be blessed with sunshine, smiles, and sweet
laughter. If you do then you will not only fill your soul with love but you
will
also scatter joy to the world around you. If you do then you will be able to
give God the most priceless gift of all: your life lived with
love.
HE TOUCHED ME
Shackled by a heavy burden'Neath a load of guilt and shame
Then the hand of Jesus touched me
Now I am no longer the same.
He touched me, oh He touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole.
Since I met the blessed Saviour
Since He cleansed and made me whole
I will never cease to praise Him
I'll shout it while eternity rolls.
He touched me, oh He touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole...
A police recruit was asked during the exam, "What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?"
He said: "Call for backup."
In The News:
Supreme Court Grants Case on Abortion Center Buffer Zones
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a case in its next term on the constitutionality of a Massachusetts law that designates a 35-foot-radius "buffer zone" around abortion centers, WORLD reports. According to the law, no one is allowed in the buffer zone but employees of the abortion facility, those coming and going from the facility, those on their way somewhere else, and law enforcement and emergency responders. Pro-life protesters had challenged the law, saying it violated their First Amendment rights. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the buffer zone law, saying it was a "narrowly tailored time-place-manner regulation that protects the rights of prospective patients and clinic employees without offending the First Amendment rights of others." In 2000, the last time the Supreme Court heard an abortion center buffer zone case, it upheld the law, but the composition of the court has changed since then.
Colorado Transgender First-Grader Allowed to Use Girls' Bathroom
Colorado officials have ruled that a 6-year-old boy can use the girls' bathroom at his school, CBN News reports. Coy Mathis, who identifies himself as a girl, will now be treated as a girl at Eagleside Elementary School in Fountain, Colo. The Denver Post reported that Coy's parents and other transgender activists are celebrating the state's decision. The Transgender Legal Defense and Education fund had filed a complaint on the family's behalf, claiming Coy was being discriminated against because he was not being allowed to use the girls' bathroom.
Tanzania: Two Pastors Attacked by Muslim Extremists
Voice of the Martyrs reports that on June 2, Pastor Robert Ngai in Geita, northeastern Tanzania, was attacked by a large group of radical Muslims. The attackers broke into his home and attacked him with machetes, and Ngai received serious cuts on his hands and arms when he raised his arms to protect his head from the blows. The injuries were beyond local doctors' ability to treat, so he was rushed to a hospital in a nearby, larger city for treatment. Ngai is the pastor of the Evangelical Assemblies of God Church. At last word from VOM contacts, he was still in ICU. Two nights before the attack on Pastor Ngai, the home of Pastor Daudi Nzumbi in Geita also came under attack. Pastor Nzumbi leads the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania in Geita. Thankfully, the attackers fled after they were confronted by Pastor Nzumbi's large, barking dogs. When Pastor Nzumbi called the police, the officer in charge told him, "I cannot protect every pastor!"
China Still Persecuting Christians, Just Better at Hiding It
China (ICC) -- Two weeks ago, the New York Times published details of a fascinating interview with Mr. Zhang, the claimed author of a note written in English and allegedly smuggled out of the Masanjia labor camp while he was imprisoned there. The letter was discovered by a woman in Oregon who found it stashed in a box of Halloween decorations that were packaged at the labor camp. The letter revealed that conditions in the camp were "a living hell" and that about half the camp's occupants were either Falun Gong practitioners or members of underground house churches.
In late 2012, China Aid, a human rights organization dedicated to assisting Chinese Christians who face abuses of religious freedom, published a report citing an increase of 131.8 percent in the number of Christians imprisoned by the Chinese government over the course of 2012. The report was alarming and controversial, but recent research conducted on the ground by International Christian Concern (ICC) has confirmed that Christians still face arrest and imprisonment in large numbers despite the overall impression that China has curtailed repression of religious minorities in recent years.
One eyewitness sentenced to a re-education through labor camp in Shangqui, Henan Province, told ICC late last month that she estimates at least 50 to 60 Christians spent time in her camp over the course of her two-year sentence. She said many were arrested repeatedly for refusing to stop attending house churches which remain technically illegal in China. The only legal option for Protestants is to attend an officially registered "Three-Self church." However, millions of Chinese Christians refuse to join these churches due to the high level of control exerted by the Communist Party over everything -- from what is preached to who is allowed to preach it.
Also alarming is the length to which Chinese officials are willing to go in order to keep the repression of religious groups confidential. Many Chinese religious leaders told ICC that the number of violent incidents, such as beatings or torture while under arrest, have decreased dramatically in recent years while at the same time the level of control exerted over these groups has increased exponentially. One pastor relayed how officials in his hometown "knew everything about him" and were constantly tracking meeting locations, times, and number of people in attendance. They would often invite him to "have tea" and apply subtle pressure for his congregation to join with the local Three-Self church.
This heightened level of observation should not be surprising. Starting in 2010, China began spending a greater share of its gross domestic product on internal security to police its own population than on its substantial military. One source cautioned an ICC representative that they should assume that all communications -- cell phone, e-mail, and even web addresses visited -- would be monitored and recorded while visiting China. If at any time the work of a foreigner becomes too prominent or threatened, they would be "deported without delay." The requirement for users of hotel internet to input their passport number before being able to browse was the first indication to this author that China's internal security apparatus remains alive and well.
The bright side to all of this is that it appears that international pressure has in some ways had a great effect on China's overall treatment of religious minorities. Incidents that would spark an international outcry, such as handing down a long prison sentence to a major house church leader, are frowned upon by Beijing, even if publicly the country's leaders deny any wrongdoing to the rest of the world. For the millions of Christians living in Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities, this is good news.
Unfortunately for the millions more living in more rural or suburban areas of China, there is little hope of assistance. Stifling restrictions placed on both the Chinese press and foreign journalists make it extremely difficult to collect first-hand reports of recent arrests on the basis of religious belief. The information we do have, though, suggests that it is far too soon to announce the dawn of anything like true religious freedom in the People's Republic of China. For hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens, that day remains hidden in an uncertain and, if the Communist Party has its way, highly controlled future.
International Christian Concern is a Washington, D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides awareness, advocacy and assistance to the worldwide persecuted church.
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a case in its next term on the constitutionality of a Massachusetts law that designates a 35-foot-radius "buffer zone" around abortion centers, WORLD reports. According to the law, no one is allowed in the buffer zone but employees of the abortion facility, those coming and going from the facility, those on their way somewhere else, and law enforcement and emergency responders. Pro-life protesters had challenged the law, saying it violated their First Amendment rights. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the buffer zone law, saying it was a "narrowly tailored time-place-manner regulation that protects the rights of prospective patients and clinic employees without offending the First Amendment rights of others." In 2000, the last time the Supreme Court heard an abortion center buffer zone case, it upheld the law, but the composition of the court has changed since then.
Colorado Transgender First-Grader Allowed to Use Girls' Bathroom
Colorado officials have ruled that a 6-year-old boy can use the girls' bathroom at his school, CBN News reports. Coy Mathis, who identifies himself as a girl, will now be treated as a girl at Eagleside Elementary School in Fountain, Colo. The Denver Post reported that Coy's parents and other transgender activists are celebrating the state's decision. The Transgender Legal Defense and Education fund had filed a complaint on the family's behalf, claiming Coy was being discriminated against because he was not being allowed to use the girls' bathroom.
Tanzania: Two Pastors Attacked by Muslim Extremists
Voice of the Martyrs reports that on June 2, Pastor Robert Ngai in Geita, northeastern Tanzania, was attacked by a large group of radical Muslims. The attackers broke into his home and attacked him with machetes, and Ngai received serious cuts on his hands and arms when he raised his arms to protect his head from the blows. The injuries were beyond local doctors' ability to treat, so he was rushed to a hospital in a nearby, larger city for treatment. Ngai is the pastor of the Evangelical Assemblies of God Church. At last word from VOM contacts, he was still in ICU. Two nights before the attack on Pastor Ngai, the home of Pastor Daudi Nzumbi in Geita also came under attack. Pastor Nzumbi leads the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania in Geita. Thankfully, the attackers fled after they were confronted by Pastor Nzumbi's large, barking dogs. When Pastor Nzumbi called the police, the officer in charge told him, "I cannot protect every pastor!"
China Still Persecuting Christians, Just Better at Hiding It
China (ICC) -- Two weeks ago, the New York Times published details of a fascinating interview with Mr. Zhang, the claimed author of a note written in English and allegedly smuggled out of the Masanjia labor camp while he was imprisoned there. The letter was discovered by a woman in Oregon who found it stashed in a box of Halloween decorations that were packaged at the labor camp. The letter revealed that conditions in the camp were "a living hell" and that about half the camp's occupants were either Falun Gong practitioners or members of underground house churches.
In late 2012, China Aid, a human rights organization dedicated to assisting Chinese Christians who face abuses of religious freedom, published a report citing an increase of 131.8 percent in the number of Christians imprisoned by the Chinese government over the course of 2012. The report was alarming and controversial, but recent research conducted on the ground by International Christian Concern (ICC) has confirmed that Christians still face arrest and imprisonment in large numbers despite the overall impression that China has curtailed repression of religious minorities in recent years.
One eyewitness sentenced to a re-education through labor camp in Shangqui, Henan Province, told ICC late last month that she estimates at least 50 to 60 Christians spent time in her camp over the course of her two-year sentence. She said many were arrested repeatedly for refusing to stop attending house churches which remain technically illegal in China. The only legal option for Protestants is to attend an officially registered "Three-Self church." However, millions of Chinese Christians refuse to join these churches due to the high level of control exerted by the Communist Party over everything -- from what is preached to who is allowed to preach it.
Also alarming is the length to which Chinese officials are willing to go in order to keep the repression of religious groups confidential. Many Chinese religious leaders told ICC that the number of violent incidents, such as beatings or torture while under arrest, have decreased dramatically in recent years while at the same time the level of control exerted over these groups has increased exponentially. One pastor relayed how officials in his hometown "knew everything about him" and were constantly tracking meeting locations, times, and number of people in attendance. They would often invite him to "have tea" and apply subtle pressure for his congregation to join with the local Three-Self church.
This heightened level of observation should not be surprising. Starting in 2010, China began spending a greater share of its gross domestic product on internal security to police its own population than on its substantial military. One source cautioned an ICC representative that they should assume that all communications -- cell phone, e-mail, and even web addresses visited -- would be monitored and recorded while visiting China. If at any time the work of a foreigner becomes too prominent or threatened, they would be "deported without delay." The requirement for users of hotel internet to input their passport number before being able to browse was the first indication to this author that China's internal security apparatus remains alive and well.
The bright side to all of this is that it appears that international pressure has in some ways had a great effect on China's overall treatment of religious minorities. Incidents that would spark an international outcry, such as handing down a long prison sentence to a major house church leader, are frowned upon by Beijing, even if publicly the country's leaders deny any wrongdoing to the rest of the world. For the millions of Christians living in Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities, this is good news.
Unfortunately for the millions more living in more rural or suburban areas of China, there is little hope of assistance. Stifling restrictions placed on both the Chinese press and foreign journalists make it extremely difficult to collect first-hand reports of recent arrests on the basis of religious belief. The information we do have, though, suggests that it is far too soon to announce the dawn of anything like true religious freedom in the People's Republic of China. For hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens, that day remains hidden in an uncertain and, if the Communist Party has its way, highly controlled future.
International Christian Concern is a Washington, D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides awareness, advocacy and assistance to the worldwide persecuted church.
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