"2016: Future Trends"

"In December 2016, the U.S. President-elect will receive Global Trends 2035, the sixth edition in the National Intelligence Council (NIC) series aimed at providing a framework for thinking about the future," says the NIC.

Good to know someone is planning ahead--but how can they "look" two decades into the future?

"We identify global "drivers" and estimate their impact," says the NIC. They use worldwide meetings with a range of experts who put their heads together and gaze into the future based on present trends and what they see as possible "global trajectories".

Trends examined include:

• economics
• security
• geopolitics (among many others)

The experts from scores of countries and a variety of fields then put on their thinking caps and try to produce a comprehensive picture of the world in 2035 (with many "updates", of course).

Seem ambitious?

Not when compared to Bible prophecy.

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is woven with  predictions. In fact, more than 1/4 of the Bible is prophecy. Most of them (roughly 80%) have already been fulfilled with 100% accuracy. (Remember, God uses prophecy to authenticate the Bible. If the prophetic scriptures prove true, and history tells us they do, then we can also trust what the Bible teaches about Jesus & the way of salvation.)

The remaining 20% of unfulfilled prophecy will probably be fulfilled in our lifetime as every major player and global trend continues to fall into place--exactly as the Bible predicts. So, if you want to know what the future holds, study the Bible. 

The NIC could save a lot of time and effort by simply handing the U.S. President-elect a copy of the Bible. At least they'd be sure of its accuracy.

A wise man once said: "When the number of factors coming into play in a phenomenological complex is too large, scientific method in most cases fails. One need only think of the weather, in which case the prediction even a few days ahead is impossible." --Albert Einstein

"However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries..." Daniel 2:28

"I am God, and there is no one else like Me. Only I can tell you what is going to happen even before it happens." Isaiah 46:9-10

News:

• Fox News Channel: Russia warns people to stay home New Year's Eve due to terror threat.
• Associated Press: Former Pentagon Chief Says Nuke Danger Is Growing; William J. Perry on a mission warning of nuclear terror attack in U.S.
• Express: ISIS plotting "to slaughter thousands" in 2016 in bid to spark huge final battle with West; plan to "activate 100's of sleeper cells in dozens of countries." 

First Amendment: Freedom FROM Speech?"

Satirist and documentary filmmaker Ami Horowitz did something last week that should horrify us all.

He went to Yale--the incubator for some of the best and brightest.

Yale--the alma mater of five U.S. Presidents and no less than ten U.S. Supreme Court Justices.

Yale--presumably the place from which we will get our next generation of leaders...(yes that Yale. Yale University).

Horowitz visited the campus and recorded the students doing something shocking.

With a hidden video camera, he secretly taped fifty students (in about an hour) jumping at the chance to sign away our First Amendment rights.

You remember the First Amendment: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom to assemble?

The filmmaker approached students (did we mention he was secretly recording them?) and said: "What we're calling for is an amendment to repeal the First Amendment, just get rid of it, blow it up."

Response from the students?

"I think this is fantastic. I absolutely agree," squeals one.

"Excellent. Love it," gushes another.

Over and over again, the Yale students eagerly signed the petition, practically begging to do away with our freedoms.

Why, you ask? According to the Washington Free Beacon:

"The video comes on the heels of several high-profile incidents on college campuses in which students and teachers have sought to censor reporters in a bid to foster what they call a safe space."

A safe space is a place where anything "deemed offensive" or politically incorrect is strictly off-limits, against the rules, verboten.

In other words, these Yale students would like to make their campus (along with all of America apparently) a safe space--where never is heard a discouraging word...and the skies are not cloudy all day.

A wise man once said: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."  -- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

"We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know they are good for us--they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation." Romans 5:3-4

 News:

• The Daily Caller: Kentucky Grade School Scrubs All References To Christianity In "A Charlie Brown Christmas" Play. Meanwhile, Education Bureaucrats Fail To Spell 'Kentucky' Correctly.
• CNS News.com: Students Sign Petition To Ban "Racist" Song 'White Christmas'
• Fox News Channel: Kentucky School District Bans 'Silent Night'; Replaces It With A Christmas Version Of The 'Whip/Nae Nae' Song

"Terror By Any Other Name"

If you've ever wondered why some people say "ISIS" and some say "ISIL", while still others say "DA'ESH"--you're not alone.

In a nutshell: 'ISIS'= an acronym for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. 'ISIL' = an acronym for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The 'Levant' = Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and last but not least--Israel.

ISIS changed their name to ISIL because their ambition to establish a caliphate (Islamic state) grew beyond Iraq and Syria to include Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Israel.

In other words, this isn't just your typical "you say to-may-toe, I say to-mot-toe" scenario. Far from it.

To call ISIS "ISIL" = legitimizing their goal of wreaking havoc across the Middle East and wiping out Israel.

Given the expanded meaning of the term 'ISIL' (and the fact that most media outlets refuse to use it), why do the U.S. State Department, the U.N., and our current administration insist on using it?

Because it's a more accurate translation, they say.

Really? Not according to many Arabic-speaking media types who contend, "It is neither Islamic nor is it a state (discuss). The group has no standing with faithful Muslims, nor among the international community of nations.

They refer to the group as "'Da'esh", a pejorative term meaning "to tread underfoot or crush."

The French government took things a step further and officially changed the name of the group to "Da'esh Cutthroats".

We think it's time the U.S. government did the same. Let's re-brand ISIS with a new acronym that fully reflects what they are:

EVIL = Eradicate Vicious Ideological Losers

A wise man once said: "The evil of ISIS really shouldn't shock us--it is fully in keeping with their ultimate agenda of hastening a final apocalypse. God's Word tells us that there will be a final battle one day, but it will result in the defeat of Satan and all those allied with him. One thing is for sure--one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. --Franklin Graham

"Their feet run to do evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Devastation and destruction are in their paths. They do not know the way of peace, and there is no justice in their tracks; they have made their paths crooked. Who ever treads on them does not know peace"--Isaiah 59:7-8.

News:

• Fox News Channel: ISIS May Have Stolen Blank Passports In Syria; Syrian Immigration Quietly Tops 100,000 Since 2012.
• Breitbart: More Than 30 Immigrants Admitted To The U.S. Recently Implicated In Terrorism, warns Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
• DEBKAfile: ISIS Calls On Supporters In France To Kill Teachers; "Obligated to kill enemies of Allah," they claim.

 

"The Placebo Effect"

One of the most fascinating and least understood phenomena of the human brain is the Placebo Effect.

According to the American Cancer Society, a placebo (pluh-SEE-bo) is a substance or other kind of treatment that looks just like a regular treatment or medicine, but is not. It's actually an inactive "look-alike" treatment or substance.

Author and scientist Dr. Joe Dispenza discusses practical applications of the so-called Placebo Effect and how the "expectation of a particular outcome" can be harnessed. (In other words, we can essentially cure ourselves of maladies simply because we believe we are being cured of them, claims Dispenza in his new book titled--you guessed it--The Placebo Effect.

That's right gang, apparently, we can trick ourselves healthy!

And while the Placebo Effect may come in handy for making our body feel better, it can be deadly when applied to our spirit.

"There is a faith that has the appearance of genuine faith, but does not save," say Bible scholar John MacArthur.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3).

2Corinthians 13:5 says: "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is in you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

Romans 8:9 says: "But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to Him at all."

Sometimes religion is like a placebo. It can be an inactive look-alike that actually inoculates us against the transforming power of the Holy Spirit (see 2Timothy 3:5). 


Authentic Christianity is not a religion, but a real and dynamic relationship with the living God.

 If His Spirit is not in you, you've been tricked with an inactive and powerless but spiritually-deadly placebo.

A wise man once said: "A Christian is so much more than someone who simply at one point in time believed the truth. A true believer has an ongoing love for God that holds fast even in trials. Love for God shows itself through obedience to His Word" (1John 2:5-6; 5:1-3). -- John MacArthur, author

"I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" -- (Ezekiel 36:26).

God has promised the priceless gift of eternal life for all those who receive His Son. "Seek Him and you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart." How to go to Heaven

News:

• CCSB: Billy Graham Rapid Response Team mobilizes in San Bernardino to minister to terror victims.
• The Washington Post: Christian Liberty University to allow guns in residence halls "along with CCW classes to guard against attacks."
• Washington Examiner: Muslims 'fastest-growing religious group in the world' 100,000 Muslim immigrant granted permanent residency in the U.S. each year. 70% are democrats.

"San Bernardino Massacre"

The New York Daily News sparked controversy Thursday with their decision to run this jarring headline

"God Isn't Fixing This."

The front-page, mega-font screamer was in response to tweeted prayer requests for San Bernardino's mass shooting victims made by GOP presidential candidates.

"Meaningless platitudes" of "cowards" is how the newspaper characterized the prayers of Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and Rand Paul. Each candidate tweeted a slightly different version of this statement:

"Praying for the victims, their families and the first responders in the wake of this tragic shooting."

And for this they are called "cowards".

The massacre at the Inland Regional Center on Wednesday killed 14 innocent people and wounded 21 more.

SWAT teams swarmed neighborhoods, people cowered in closets and schools went on lock down, while a four-hour manhunt ended in a bloodbath on a residential street.

Meanwhile, authorities can't determine a motive: workplace violence or terrorism? (Not to mention the suspects had a garage full of explosives and were known Islamic extremists)

The New York Daily News, while wrong to call prayer "meaningless platitudes" and the candidates "cowards" for engaging in it, may actually be right about one thing:

We can't expect God to fix this if we, as a nation, aren't willing to return to Him.

A wise man once said: "We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking only to learn that it is God shaking them."  -- Charles C. West, author

"I open My arms to My own people all day long, but they have rebelled. They follow their own evil paths and thoughts. All day long they insult Me to My face..."  Isaiah 65:2-3

News:

• Associated Press: Putin calls for broad international anti-terror front; "One powerful fist" to fight terrorism. Accuses west of creating "zone of chaos".
• Reuters: Couple launched deadliest U.S. assault in years "they came prepared".
• DEBKAfile: "San Bernardino gunmen on U.S., Saudi and Pakistani terror watch lists,"American intelligence sources said.
• Fox News Channel: Couple had "virtual bomb making factory at home and contact with ISIS operatives". Police: "There was absolute carnage."