Creatures attacking People

A Senior Moment

This is a true account recorded in the Police Log of Sarasota, Florida:

An elderly Florida lady did her shopping and, upon returning to ...her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle.
She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her lungs, "I have a gun, and I know how to use it! GET OUT OF THE CAR!"
The four men didn't wait for a second threat. They got out and ran like mad.
The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and got into the driver's seat.
She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition. She tried and tried, and then she realized why. It was for the same reason she had wondered why there was a football, a
Frisbee, and two 12-packs of beer in the front seat.
A few minutes later, she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down.
She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the police station to report her mistake.
The sergeant to whom she told the story couldn't stop laughing.
He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale men were reporting a car jacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair, and carrying a large handgun.
No charges were filed.

Italian shopera in London

Sarawakian Adun Baru Bian on Islamic extremists

Date: 18 Jun 2014  PRESS STATEMENT

BARU BIAN: SARAWAK AGREED TO THE FORMATION OF A SECULAR MALAYSIA

Sarawakians (and I am sure many other Malaysians) are completely fed-up with the inane statements emanating from the mouths of tragically vacuous politicians and officials in Peninsula Malaysia that greet us each day. Within the space of one week, the bigoted Selangor Islamic religious authorities announce their desire to dispose of our illegally seized Bibles, a half-baked ‘academic’ convert berates Christians for building a big church, and an uninformed Minister gives us the unpleasant news that Malaysia is an Islamic state.

There have been some excellent rebuttals to the Islamic state claim, including an editorial in The Malaysian Insider and it is unnecessary to repeat what has been said. It is necessary however to point out to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Religious Affairs that while he was picking out various provisions in the Federal Constitution to support his claim of an Islamic state, he carelessly overlooked Article 4 which declares “This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation…”. This point alone should be enough to erase any doubts in any confused person’s mind. Article 4 does not state that the Syariah is the supreme law of the Federation. The three branches of government, ie the legislative, executive and judiciary are subject to the Constitution and not the Syariah. The rights of the citizens are derived from the Constitution and not the Syariah. In their oaths of office, the Prime Minister and all members of
 Parliament, and the members of the Judiciary pledge to ‘preserve, protect and defend’ the Constitution, and not the Syariah. The supremacy of the Constitution puts paid to any notion of Malaysia being an Islamic state.

In addition, the Rukunegara, which states the fundamental principles of governance directed towards the creation of a just and democratic society, declares these tenets: ‘Upholding the Constitution’ and ‘Rule of Law’. It does not state ‘Upholding the Syariah’ or ‘Rule of Syariah’.

If the Malayan political, social and religious landscape in 1961 had been what it is currently in Peninsula Malaysia, I have no doubt that Sarawakians would never have agreed to be part of the Federation. The Malaysia Agreement would not have seen the light of day as Sarawakians would never have agreed to become partners with a country where arrogant racists and religious bigots are allowed to spout their unsavoury propaganda while an emasculated leadership cowers in the corner. Even as it was at that time, during the talks leading to the formation of Malaysia, the non-Muslim communities of Sarawak had voiced their reservations about Islam being the religion of the Federation. It was finally agreed that ‘While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia there should be no State religion in Sarawak, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply to Sarawak’. The absence of a  state religion was key to Sarawak’s agreement to join in the formation Malaysia in 1963, due to the wisdom of our forefathers. Can Jamil Khir Baharom tell us what the position of Sarawak is, in this imaginary Islamic state of his? Please do not tell us now that we are part of an Islamic state; Sarawakians will not accept the unilateral changing of the contractual terms by one party.

There is enough evidence in our historical documents and legal judgments to establish that Sarawak had signed the Malaysia Agreement with a secular state. The founding father, BAPA MALAYSIA Tuanku Abdul Rahman stated it plainly in Parliament: ‘I would like to make it clear that this country is not an Islamic State as it is generally understood, we merely provided that Islam shall be the official religion of the State’ [Hansard, 1 May 1958]. How much clearer can it be that the INTENTION was the establishment of a secular state? Are the rabble rousing Islamic country champions going to tell us that Bapa Malaysia was confused? It is truly deplorable that the UMNO politicians are twisting facts to mislead the people for their political gain. It does not matter a hoot to them that they are riding roughshod over the rights of the non-Muslims and creating unhappiness and tensions in the community. Perhaps they are banking on Vladimir Lenin’s mantra "A lie repeated often enough becomes the truth", to make their fantasies come true.

The Prime Minister must make a stand to correct the wrong that has been done, otherwise he will be promoting bigotry and allowing extremists to be even bolder in their outrageous claims. We want these misguided rabid UMNO players in West Malaysia to desist from trying to shove their agenda down our throats. If Malaysia is indeed held to be an Islamic state, I will propose to the Sarawak government that our case be brought to an international forum for adjudication based on misrepresentation and fraud. For now, I ask that the parliamentarians from Sarawak and Sabah take a stand on this and be heard in and out of Parliament. Our Constitution and secularity must be safeguarded for the sake of our future generations.

BARU BIAN
ADUN N70 BA’ KELALAN

Truths and Myths

Persecuted Movie Trailer

A new US movie on the persecution of Christians will be shown in US cinemas in mid July 2014.

Seal in Greek in New Testament

σφραγίζω  The Seal    sphragizō

“Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” ( 1 Cor 1.21,22)

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,……..And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.( Eph 1.13; 4.30)

 

“And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.” (Jer 32.10)

 

We are considering the work of the Holy Spirit as the Anointed, the Seal and the Earnest, all of which are covered by 2 Corinthians 1. 21, 22 and we closed the section on the Anointed with,” What cause for praise we have for this adequate equipment through the anointing of the Holy Spirit!” It is to be noticed that all three aspects are God's work for "us" and are made good to us in the present. At conversion, therefore, the believer was anointed by the Holy Spirit for service, sealed by Him as being God's property and given the earnest of the Spirit as pledge of that inheritance to which grace has made him heir. As with the anointing, the subject of the seal is found in both Old and New Testaments and must, therefore, be seen as a whole if it is rightly to be understood.

 

The Seal and Authority.        In the Old Testament, kings used a signet ring as a seal upon their letters, attesting the royal authority in what was written. The use of the king's signet might be entrusted to others, authorized to act for the king. Pharaoh gave his ring to Joseph, who was deputed to act as his deputy, “And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck” (Gen. 41. 42) in the administration of Egypt during the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine. Joseph's decrees to the nation, as bearing Pharaoh's seal, came with the entire king's authority.

 

Jezebel put king Ahab's signet to terrible use when she wrote letters in the king's name and sealed them with his ring, in the matter of encom­passing the murder of Naboth, whose vineyard Ahab coveted. He was thwarted in acquiring this vineyard by Naboth's refusal either to exchange or sell the inheritance of his fathers, (1 Kings 21. 8). The ring of King Ahasuerus, taken from the deposed Haman, "the Jews' enemy", was given to Mordecai the Jew, recently promoted to high office in the king's domin­ions. By this ring, he was authorised to write and seal letters in the king's name empowering the Jews to defend themselves on the day appointed by Haman for their total destruction, (Esther 3. 12, 13; 8. 2, 10, 11). According to the law of the Persians and Medes, the terms of a letter sealed with the king's ring were irreversible, "Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse”  (Est 8.8).

 

King Darius, pressed by his courtiers to take action against Daniel concerning his daily intercession to God, which the king had forbidden by decree under pain of death, unwillingly had Daniel consigned to the lions' den. Darius was unable to reverse his edict, which the royal seal had ratified, "according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not", (Dan. 6. 8, 12). The stone which was laid upon the entrance to the den"the king sealed . . . with his own signet, . . . that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel", (v. 17). From these considerations we deduce that the use of the king's seal attested both the authenticity and authority of what was sealed as proceeding from the king, as well as the unalterability of his purpose.

 

In the New Testament we read that God set the seal of His authority upon Christ, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Father sealed.” (John 6. 27). This was doubtless the seal of the Holy Spirit,authorizing and authenticating all that Christ was and did. God has likewise set the seal of His authority, in the Holy Spirit, upon us, as authenticating our witness, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.” (John. 15. 26,27), and expressing the unalterability of His purpose concerning us. Even the hireling prophet Balaam was compelled to recognise this fact in God's purpose concerning Israel: "I have received commandment to bless ... and I cannot reverse it", (Num. 23. 20).

Of the Corinthians Paul wrote that they were the epistle of Christ, “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.” (2. Cor. 3. 3). We may add, with perfect propriety, that such an epistle was also sealed by the Spirit, as attesting its validity.

 

The Seal and Purchase.           In the Old Testament, the signet ring was used as a seal on legal instruments attesting the purchase of land or property. Jeremiah, who had been imprisoned by Zedekiah for prophesying that Jerusalem would fall to the Chaldeans and that the king's safety would only be secured by surrendering to the besieging enemy, was at that critical juncture told by God to buy his uncle's field in Anathoth, “Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.” (Jer 32. 7). It seemed an absurd thing for him to do, when the enemy was at the gates and Jerusalem would in­evitably fall; and when all existing rights over property would soon be extinguished by the enemy's advent and possession. That Jeremiah did so expressed his faith in God's purpose to bring back His people after seventy years' Babylonian captivity and their re-possession of their property. "For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land", (v. 15). So Jeremiah "bought the field . . . that was in Anathoth, and weighed . . . the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. And . . . subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed ... the money", (vv. 9, 10). The land thereby became Jeremiah's by purchase; in due time, none would dispute his title to it.

 

We may say that God has sealed us by the Spirit in proof of His ownership by purchase, for "ye are not your own ... ye are bought with a price", (1 Cor. 6. 19,20). The price was that of redemption. Jeremiah had"the right of redemption", since it was his uncle's field, (er. 32. 7, 8). Christ, as our Kins­man Redeemer, (Ruth 3. 13) had the right of redemption, which He was both able and willing to exercise. Hugh Stowell’s words express the idea: "Every lamb is sprinkled with the blood He shed: Then on each He setteth His own secret sign. 'They that have My Spirit, These', saith He, 'are Mine'.". The "blood" is the price of redemption; the "secret sign" is that of the seal of the Holy Spirit, in token of which those sealed become Christ's property - "Mine"!

 

The Seal and Exclusive Ownership.                The seal also attests exclusive ownership  in which there can be no rival. Such is the point of the bridegroom's statement in the Song of Songs: "A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed", (4. 12). None but he might refresh himself at that "fountain"; it was "sealed" for him exclusively. So P. Gerhardt wrote, as translated by John Wesley: 

 

Jesus, Thy boundless love to me No thought can reach, no tongue declare;

O knit my thankful heart to Thee, And reign without a rival there:

Thine wholly, Thine alone, I am, Be Thou alone my constant flame.

 

The Jew was circumcised as an outward sign betokening his covenant relationship with God. It began with Abraham, who "received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had", (Rom 4.11). The believer of the New Testament has no outward sign of covenant relationship with God, but the in­ward seal of the Holy Spirit, "….we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh…….. In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: " (Phil. 3. 3; Col 2.11). Accordingly, Paul also wrote "he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit . . .", (Rom. 2. 28,29).

 

Ephesians 1. 13, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise” amplifies Paul's statement of 2 Corinthians 1.22, "who also hath sealed us". Some have inferred from the words "after that", that the sealing of the Holy Spirit does not necessarily occur immedi­ately upon conversion, but is a subsequent experience, of the nature of a "second blessing"! It may be said that experience but rarely keeps pace with truth and it may well be that with many there is not at conversion an immediate apprehension of the implications of the sealing of the Holy Spirit. But our faulty apprehensions of truth do not invalidate truth. The Revised rendering of the phrase is better,"having also be­lieved, ye were sealed". The simple and sole condition of being sealed with the Holy Spirit is that of faith in Christ -not the measure of faith, but the fact of it!

Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan defies Allah ban

Jane Moh & Peter Sibon, reporters@theborneopost.comMUKAH: 

Adenan rejects Putrajaya's ALLAH ban; The new Chief Minister of Sarawak is a MAN indeed !!

"I will not permit such a law as long as I am CM!" - Adenan rejects Putrajaya's ALLAH ban

Nothing is permanent in POLITICS, Sarawak will slowly change as the umno power fanatics have done to P Malaysia over the 57 yrs. There is no peace with Islam since its birth,... Bombing, killing, suicide, Sharia Law, Sunni vs Shia, never ending human misery.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem told Christians here there was no law in Sarawak that prevents them from using the term ‘Allah’ to refer to God.

“There is no law in Sarawak that says you cannot use the word ‘Allah’, and I will not permit such a law in Sarawak as long as I am the Chief Minister,” he said during a meeting with the people at the Catholic Centre here yesterday.

Adenan said he believed everyone is a child of God regardless of race and religion, and that God loves everyone irrespective of their faiths.

He regarded ‘Allah’ or ‘Tuhan’ as the same God of many colours and there is no difference among his people.

Yussibnosh (right) shakes hands with Father Joseph as others look on.

Adenan greets Christians at the Catholic Centre.

“God created us differently, but at the same time we are the same because we believe in the colourful garden. It would be very dull if all the colours were all white.”

Thus, he called on the people to respect one another’s religion, beliefs and differences.
He said there were Melanau families here where the parents are Christians while their children are Muslims, but they lived under one roof.

“I don’t want that to change. I don’t want them to quarrel among themselves.”

Meanwhile, he said as chief minister he had to make sure everyone could practice their own religion in their own way without hindrance.

“Whether it is mosques, churches, or temples, I will give some grant. I will never distinguish between them.”

He told Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church Mukah parishioners that he could give 10 per cent of the things they asked for.

“I cannot give all that you asked for, but have no doubt that I will never distinguish between mosques, or churches, or temples.

“That is the way it ought to be. You are at liberty to practice your religion in your own way,” he pointed out, adding that such religious freedom is enshrined in the federal constitution.

He said Sarawakians had been living in peace for hundreds of years without quarreling over religious issues, and for that people in the peninsula had a lot to learn from Sarawakians.

Also present at the event were Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church Mukah rector Reverend Father Joseph Sebastian, Assistant Minister of Community Services Datuk Peter Nansian Ngusie and BN candidate for Balingian by-election Yussibnosh Balo. -The Borneo Post

D-Day Revisited

Middle East Update

Chaos in Iraq, Syria setting stage for the Twelfth Imam, says Ayatollah, but more must be done. Iranian leader reveals thoughts on Shia eschatology.

In Uncategorized on June 16, 2014 at 1:55 pm

Wars in Syria and Iraq mean the Twelfth Imam is coming soon, says Ayatollah Khamenei.

(Washington, D.C.) — What are the End Times implications of the enormous upheavals we’re seeing in Iraq and Syria?

In the days ahead, I’ll post some observations from a Biblical perspective.

But first you should know that the highest ranking Shia Muslim leader in the world believes events in the epicenter are preparing the way for the soon arrival of the so-called Islamic messiah, but that more preparations are needed.

As I wrote about in my novel, The Twelfth Imam, Shia leaders — and especially the leaders of Iran — are trying to actively accelerate his arrival by gaining control of Iraq and Syria and preparing for the annihilation of Israel and the United States.

This week, the Ayatollah Khamenei revealed his latest thinking on the subject.

“Iran’s supreme leader is promising a world free of infidels and nonbelievers with the coming of the Islamic messiah, Mahdi, a 9th-century descendant of the prophet Mohammad whom the Shiites refer to as the 12th Imam,” writes Reza Khalili, the former Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps operative who became a double-agent against Iran for the CIA.

“The coming of Imam Zaman (Mahdi) is the definite promise by Allah,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech Wednesday on the anniversary of Mahdi’s birthday at an exhibition of research and historical documents on the 12th Imam.

“Khamenei said one of Allah’s promises was that an Islamic revolution would come to Iran,” notes Khalili.

“Who would have thought that in this sensitive region and in this important country, with a regime (run by Shah Pahlavi) and supported by the international powers, a revolution based on religion and Sharia (law) would take place?” Khamenei asked.

Excerpts from the article:

• The Shiite clerical establishment ruling Iran believes that Iran’s 1979 revolution was a precursor to the coming of Mahdi, during which all infidels will be killed and the flag of Islam will be raised in all four corners of the world.
• “The caravan of humanity from the day of creation has been moving through the windings of the hard maze (of life) … to reach an open path, (and) this open path is that of the time of the coming of Imam Mahdi,” he said. “The awaiting for the coming is a hopeful and powerful wait, providing the biggest opening for the Islamic society.”
• The supreme leader’s representative in the Revolutionary Guards, Ali Saeedi, in a meeting with Guard commanders on Friday, said the coming of Imam Mahdi cannot take place under the current circumstances, and in order for that to happen the Middle East needs to witness major changes. To create those changes, there is a need for “regional preparedness” and that the Islamic revolution in Iran “without a doubt will be connected to the worldwide revolution of Imam Mahdi.”
• The secret documentary “The Coming Is Upon Us,” produced by the regime for the preparedness of its forces, Hezbollah and other Shiite jihadists and revealed in 2011, covers the centuries-old hadiths by Mohammad and his descendants in providing a timeline of events and what needs to happen for the coming of Mahdi.
• Iran’s clerical rulers believe the figure “Seyed Khorasani,” who at the end of times facilitates the coming and passes the flag of Islam to Imam Mahdi, is the current supreme leader of the regime, Ayatollah Khamenei.
• In the documentary, close associates of Khamenei reveal that he personally has acknowledged his role as the facilitator of the coming. Khamenei has also stated openly, “I can tell you with utmost confidence: The promise of Allah for The Coming and the establishment of a new Islamic civilization is on its way.”
• The Obama administration is currently engaged in intensive negotiations over the regime’s illicit nuclear and missile programs. Iran insists on its right to enrichment and the expansion of nuclear research and development, but international analysts believe the goal is to acquire nuclear weapons to use against Israel and the United States.
• The supreme leader, in another recent statement covered by The Daily Caller, bluntly said that jihad will continue until America is destroyed.
• “This battle will only end when the society can get rid of the oppressors’ front, with America at the head of it, which has expanded its claws on human mind, body and thought. … This requires a difficult and lengthy struggle and need for great strides,” he said.

From Joel Rosenberg's Blog