"Can Your Alexa Have You Arrested?"

According to The Wall Street Journal: "A woman was sitting on her bed crying one day after having just quit her job when she said she heard a voice tell her, "It's going to be OK."

Uh-oh freaky...voice outta no where...?

Nope. It was Alexa, the Amazon Echo speaker on her nightstand.

That's right folks--not only is Alexa a virtual personal assistant, apparently it has a mind of its own, able to speak and laugh whenever it feels like it...or not.

"Multiple users have reported that Amazon Echo devices have been emitting creepy laughter and ignoring users' commands," writes Breitbart.

Unfortunately, unsolicited comfort, random laughter and command refusal may be only the tip of the Alexa iceberg.

According to The Daily Mail: "Smart assistants could soon come with 'moral AI' to decide whether to report their owner for breaking the law. That's the suggestion of academics who say that household gadgets like the Amazon Echo and Google Home should be enhanced with ethical smart software. This would let them weigh-up whether to report illegal activity to the police, effectively putting millions of people under constant surveillance."

This begs the question: What happens to all the 'data' (read: personal conversations) overheard by that little black cylinder you forgot was there?

Ronald Arkin, a robot ethicist says, "Amazon and Google have all sorts of data about our preferences. You don't have to use their products. If you do, you're saying OK, I'm willing to allow this potential violation of my privacy. No one is forcing this on anyone. It's not mandated a la '1984'."

And he's right, it isn't--yet.

A wise man once said: "Opinions about artificial intelligence abound, but one thing is clear: It is making ever further advances into our daily lives. It is in our cars, cellphones, schools, banks, hospitals and homes--machines that can think like human beings." --Religion Link.com

"Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops." (Luke 12:3)

How To Go To Heaven...click here

News:

• FNC: Trump administration's Middle East Peace Plan finished, officials say
• France 24: Wireless technology moving health care outside of clinics and hospitals; allows doctors to be hundreds of miles away.
• Daily Star: Russia claims U.S. is preparing to invade Venezuela to oust President Nicolas Maduro

"Christian Millennials: Ambassadors For Christ?"

About 215 million Christians faced significant persecution last year according to Christian watchdog organization, Open Doors:

• 3,006 Christians were killed
• 1,252 were abducted
• 1,020 were raped or sexually abused
• 793 churches were attacked

Researchers estimate 1 in 12 Christians live in countries where their faith is "illegal, forbidden, or punished."

For instance, "It is illegal to be a Christian in North Korea and Christians are often sent to labor camps or killed if they are discovered," Open Doors said. "The conditions in this country have remained the worst in the world for Christians in the past 13 years."

Unfortunately, North Korea is far from alone in its oppression of Christians. Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan, Eritrea, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Iran, and even Mexico and Columbia ranked in the top 50 worst countries to be a Christian.

Thirty of the 50 nations on the list saw conditions worsen for Christians since the last report, and yet the Gospel message of saving grace is still shared.

Why do they do it? Because Scripture demands it.

Meanwhile,  Barna Group, a research center that tracks faith and spirituality in American life, reports that 90% of practicing American Christians agree that "the best thing that could ever happen to someone is for them to know Jesus." True enough--however, the very same study found 47% (or nearly one-half) of Christian millennials believe evangelism is wrong.

The reason? The don't want to offend anybody.

A wise man once said: "For Christians, sharing one's faith--evangelizing--is viewed as a mandate from Jesus Himself...as much as ever, evangelism isn't just about saving the unsaved, but reminding ourselves that this stuff matters, that the Bible is trustworthy and that Jesus changes everything." --David Kinnaman, President of Barna Group

"I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the Living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching...endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Timothy 4: 1, 2 & 5).

How to go to heaven...

News:

• Reuters: Russia's Putin: "We'll target USA if Washington deploys missiles in Europe"; advises policy-makers to calculate risk
• CNN: Taiwan President issues warning to the world: The military threat posed by China growing "everyday"
• DEBKAfile: Tehran plans to fight crippling U.S. sanctions; terror or fast-tracked nuclear options

"Scientists Warn Of Ecological Armageddon"

What do dung beetles, wasps, flies and lots of other creepy-crawly things have in common with the honey bee?

They're vanishing. And while the loss of a few bazillion flies might seem like a good thing, a new study suggests these disappearances are merely a symptom of a much bigger problem.

According to the study published in the journal Biological Conservation, more than 40% of the world's insect species could go extinct in the coming decades.

"The repercussions this will have for the planet's ecosystems are catastrophic to say the least, as insects are the structural and functional base of many of the world's ecosystems," say researchers.

In other words, insects serve essential ecological functions that other species, including humans, depend on for crop pollination and natural food chains. Fewer insects = few birds, fish, animals, plants, crops, and humans.

Whitney Webb of MPN News reports:

"The study has sent shock waves across the scientific community, largely because most previous studies have focused on the population decline of specific and well-known species, such as the honey bee or butterflies. Because this study evaluated all flying insects--including infrequently examined species such as wasps and flies--it presents a much stronger indication of widespread population decline. As a result, the researchers have ominously warned that the study's findings suggest that the world is "on course for ecological Armageddon." The most likely reason for the insect die-off? Pesticides, according to the study.

The Bible gives a different reason:

"There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land. You curse and lie and kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere, with one murder after another. That is why your land is not producing. It is filled with sadness, and all living things are becoming sick and dying. Even the animals, birds, and fish have begun to disappear" (Hosea 4:1-3).

A wise man once said: "Hosea's purpose was to denounce sin, to warn of impending judgment, and to assure the faithful that God's love would win out in the end." --Barry J. Beitzel, PhD.

How to go to heaven....

News:

• MSN: 'El Nino is officially here' NOAA announced Thursday; Forecasters: 55% chance weather pattern will continue through April.
•  CNBC: "Trump will sign spending bill, declare a national emergency and build the wall", says Senator McConnell
• CNN: Top U.S. admiral in Middle East warns of growing Iranian threat

"Get Right or Get Left"

Politics isn't the only arena in life becoming polarized. A line also exists between "true" Christians and false ones.

We learn from the Parable of the Wheat and Tares in Matthew 13: 24-30 that Satan works to deceive the church by mingling his children (tares) with God's genuine believers (wheat).

Tares closely resemble wheat, but are poisonous to human beings. They are indistinguishable from wheat until the final fruit appears. Farmers would weed out the tares just before the wheat harvest. Until Christ returns, both genuine believers and false converts will be allowed to remain together--but God Himself will separate the two. Those who aren't right, will be left.

According to the Nelson Study Bible: True Christians are born again. The Greek word translated again can mean either "from above" or "anew". The new birth, or regeneration (see Titus 3:5) is the act by which God imparts spiritual life to one who trusts Christ. Without this spiritual birth, a person cannot perceive spiritual things (see 1 Corinthians 2:10, 13-16), nor can they enter the Kingdom of God.

In other words, the "natural" person or those without the Holy Spirit are barred from Heaven at death.

To remedy this deplorable situation, God sent His Son to die for our sins, in our place. God then raised Jesus from the dead. Belief in Jesus' resurrection and our own is central to the gospel. God will grant eternal life to all who believe Him.

Jesus said, "Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. So don't be surprised at My statement that you must be born again. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit" (John 3:6).

Genuine faith always produces change. Got Questions.org explains it this way:

When a person receives Christ, tremendous spiritual changes take place, and true converts will eventually produce spiritual fruit--the evidence of a changed life. And, ultimately, spiritual fruit is the test of true salvation.

False converts may be able to deceive themselves (and us) into believing they belong to Christ, but they certainly cannot deceive God.

A wise man once said: "Truly converted sinners have trusted Christ alone, display a love for God, His word, and His people. They turn from their sin, work to spread the Good News of the Gospel and wait eagerly for the return of their Saviour." -- Got Questions.org

"God's promise of entering His place of rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to get there. For this Good News--that God has prepared a place of rest--has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn't believe what God told them. For only we who believe can enter His place of rest" (Hebrews 4:1-3).

How To Go To Heaven

News:

• Business Insider: Russian state-sponsored media threatens U.S. with 100-megaton nuclear doomsday device after key arms treaty fails
• The Israeli Wire: Israel successfully test Arrow 3 Anti-Missile, sending strong warning to Iran; self-defense measure backed by U.S.
• The Washington Times: Scientists: 'No evidence' climate change causes extreme cold or disrupts Polar Vortex