Greg Corombos of Radio America and Ian Tuttle of National Review applaud Ben Carson for finally ending his presidential campaign…we think. Ian gives reasons why he thinks Mitt Romney’s speech could damage Donald Trump’s candidacy while I argue Trump backers probably won’t be swayed at all. And we react to Trump’s latest explanation for his rough CNN interview.
Persecution of Christians is intensifying around the world, possibly at its worst since the early days of the church, but the courage and steadfastness of believers in these hostile areas are a great testament to their Savior and of immense encouragement to believers around the world, according to the editor of a new devotional from Voice of the Martyrs.
Voice of the Martyrs is one of the leading organizations assisting the persecuted Christian church. The devotional is entitled “I am n,” with the “n” referring to the symbol ISIS and other radical Islamic groups have used to designate “nazarenes” or followers of Christ. It contains 90 days worth of devotions.
Each day’s selection includes a gripping story of a Christian refusing to renounce their faith or insisting on sharing their faith, regardless of the cost. That is followed by commentary to help Christians apply the lessons to their own and then a prayer.
Examples of stories include Abu, a Christian in Mosul, who refused to deny Jesus, even when threatened with death and Kazim, a believer in Pakistan, who was severely beaten and stripped of his home and family but refused to stop preaching the gospel.
While the acts of courage and faith are gripping, Voice of the Martyrs Associate Vice President Dr. Jason Peters hopes readers focus on the most important takeaway.
“The hero of the story is Jesus Christ. He gives grace in these situations that we just can’t explain from an earthly perspective,” said Peters, who adds that believers are able to endure torture and heartache because their hope is not in this world.
“That’s the heart of it. The key to all of this is eternal perspective. These brothers and sisters have got an eternal perspective in ways that we can’t even begin to imagine,” he added.
While the symbol used by ISIS to identify Christians is on the cover, the devotional shares accounts from many different countries where proclaiming Christ can put one’s life in danger. But he says those places have one thing in common.
“There are really nine Islamic hot spots around the world. These are areas where Christians face Islamic extremists and many of them have been severely persecuted. So we wanted to tell their stories. That’s what we’ve been doing since 1967,” said Peters.
“We’re in the field. We’re working all the time, meeting with brothers and sisters, hearing their stories. Then we put 48 of those stories into a book, which I think people will find very helpful,” said Peters.
Peters says reading and understanding what Christians go through in many parts of the world will serve as a humbling, eye-opening experience for western Christians who never experience such persecution and give all believers an additional glimpse of the God they serve.
“Somehow [God] gives them grace which is really remarkable. Some of the themes that come out from these stories are themes like sacrifice, courage, faithfulness. Some of the stories and themes are shocking really. Some stories about forgiveness and joy,” said Peters.
“When you think about what it would take to forgive somebody who raped your daughter or killed your husband or burned your house down. It’s incredible,” added Peters.
He says it may be hard to for western believers to relate at first.
“They don’t have a comfortable existence. Many have been minorities their entire lives. Many of them live in difficult circumstances. In one sense they’ve just trained themselves to focus on their eternal reward. In the United States, we get a bit comfortable and it’s easy for us not to have an eternal perspective because we’re pretty comfortable here,” said Peters.
Some stories of Muslims converting to Christianity may seem unusual, particularly the frequent testimonies of vivid dreams in which Christ appears to them. An Afghan man named John was on his pilgrimage to Mecca when he says Jesus appeared to him in a dream.
Peters admits that will strike some as odd, but he says the evidence is very strong for these accounts being true.
“It’s incredibly frequent. We hear about dreams and visions all the time. I’ll be honest with you. I’ve never had a dream or a vision personally, but I’ve met those who have. When you hear these stories, it’s really hard to deny the fact that it happened,” said Peters.
Peters says Tom Doyle, a fellow Dallas Theological Seminary graduate, has chronicled some of these accounts in his book, “Dreams and Visions.” He shared one in particular.
“I remember the story of one guy who said, ‘I had a dream. I started to take notes when I would wake up. I make a note of what I heard from this man in white.” And he said, ‘Interestingly, I found out later when I ran into a Christian and I shared my notes that it was literally the gospel of John, almost word for word,'” Peters shared.
He believes there’s a good reason accounts of dreams and visions are much more common among the persecuted.
“In many of the 68 countries we work in, the bible is in chains. The bible is not accessible. We have bibles everywhere. But when you don’t have access to God’s word, I believe he works in some miraculous ways,” said Peters.
The devotional also makes it clear that whether the story ends happily, miraculously or in death, God is always sovereign. Peters says there are always times he and other believers don’t understand why God lets things happen but he says scripture provides encouragement on that front as well, in the Genesis account of Joseph’s brothers wanting him dead and selling him into slavery. Ultimately, God uses those circumstances to elevate Joseph to prominence in Egypt and save God’s people.
Peters says God is working in the midst of heavy persecution and is even changing some hearts among the terrorists themselves.
“There was a guy who was coming through Lebanon recently. He was actually teaching jihad to ISIS. He came back transiting through Lebanon. He asked his taxi driver, ‘Do you know where I can find a bible,'” said Peters.
“[The taxi driver] was obviously a little concerned. This fully-bearded, rogue teacher of jihad is asking him for a bible. He said, ‘I’m sick of the killing,'” shared Peters.
“In the midst of all this evil, everything horrific that ISIS has done, God is drawing people to himself and we’re actually seeing many Muslims come to Christ after seeing some of these horrific activities and these brutal actions that ISIS is prosecuting right now,” said Peters.
Peters says persecuted believers want all other Christians to know they are prayed for, even in the midst of terrible suffering.
“They want us to pray for them. They’ll often follow that up with, ‘And by the way, we’re praying for you because we know that you’re facing challenges too in your culture,” said Peters.
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Ian Tuttle of National Review wince at Donald Trump’s strong Tuesday but point out it was expected to be even stronger. They also shake their heads as the path to someone beating Trump for the nomination doesn’t get any clearer. And they discuss the decision of Ivy League football coaches to ban tackling in practice to minimize head and neck injuries.
Calling the upheaval in the Republican presidential race the “canary in the coal mine,” Rep. John Fleming says he is the conservative candidate in the Louisiana U.S. Senate race who can bring about real change.
Republicans hold a 54-46 majority in the Senate but are defending 24 of the 34 seats on the ballot this year as a result of big gains six years ago during the tea party wave. Louisiana’s seat is expected to remain in GOP hands. It is an open seat, since two-term incumbent David Vitter is not seeking re-election.
In Louisiana, all candidates from all parties will be on the ballot on Nov. 8. If no candidate wins a majority, the top two finishers will advance to a run-off. That seems likely just given the number of Republicans already in the race. In addition to Fleming, the field includes Rep. Charles Boustany, retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness and State Treasurer John Kennedy.
The 2016 presidential race has proven this is not a typical campaign, and Fleming believes that bodes very well for him.
“I really believe the presidential race in its current state is the canary in the coal mine,” said Fleming, noting that “outsiders” like Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Ben Carson consistently combine for 60 percent of the vote or more.
Fleming says voters in his state are fed up with business as usual too and he promises to change that.
“I want to go to the United States Senate because I want to bring Louisiana conservative values to the United States Senate and, frankly, to Washington,” said Fleming. “[Louisiana voters] are so frustrated with Washington, so it’s time we made a huge drastic change in the right direction.”
Fleming is completing his fourth term in the House and his incumbent status might seem like a vulnerability this year. He says it would be if his conservative record wasn’t so strong. Fleming boasts a life time 97 percent rating from the American Conservative Union. He scores 88 percent with Heritage Action and 86 percent with Conservative Review.
Beyond that, he says he’s strong on the core issues Louisiana voters care about most.
“People tell me they want somebody who understands the economy, who’s made a payroll, who’s signed the front of a check. I’m the only candidate in this race that has done that,” said Fleming, noting that he still employs over 500 people.
He also points to a consistent pro-life voting record and what he calls a “perennial A rating from the NRA.”
As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Fleming says he is also ready to tackle all national security challenges.
“I’m a strong defender of the nation. I believe in secure voters and a strong national defense. There’s many examples of where I’ve stood up for that,” said Fleming.
But does that consistent voting record equal bold leadership at a tumultuous time in American history. Col. Maness told us recently that it doesn’t.
“They’re not leaders,” Maness said of Fleming and his other GOP rivals. “They’re not proven leaders that are going to go up and lead.”
Fleming strongly rejects allegations that he’s not driving change in Washington.
“I’m the only proven change agent, the only one who’s really proven to have leadership as an outsider against what’s happening in Washington today,” said Fleming.
He says he’s never been a go along to get along guy in Congress.
“Look I’m an outsider. (Former House Speaker) John Boehner put me on his black list in the House of Representatives. He tried to stop me from raising money to support my campaign. And why? Because I didn’t go along with his go along to get along ideas in Washington. As a result of that, I co-founded the House Freedom Caucus,” said Fleming.
He says the House Freedom Caucus initially succeeded in stopping some bad legislation but it soon became obvious that more had to be done.
“Eventually, we forced Speaker Boehner to leave office in mid-term, the first time that’s ever happened without death, health problems or scandal. We even blocked the second-in-command (House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy) from taking over,” said Fleming.
Fleming says this wasn’t a rash decision but one that Republican leadership forced upon conservatives.
“We tried to move leadership in the right direction. When my colleagues and I could not get them to move in the right direction and stand up against the Obama agenda: repeal Obamacare, defund Obamacare, defund Planned Parenthood, defund the Syrian refugee influx. We just had to make a change,” said Fleming.
“No one in this race and, in fact, very few people in history have brought about the leadership for change in Washington than I have and I want to continue that in the United States Senate,” said Fleming.
If elected, Fleming already has plans to make sure Senate Republican leaders hear conservatives loudly and clearly.
“We need to create a House Freedom Caucus in the United States Senate as well. Two of my Freedom Caucus colleagues are also running for the Senate. The three of us will join together with the likes of Mike Lee and others and we’ll be a force for change in the Senate,” said Fleming.
“The Senate needs to do its work. We’ve sent a number of bills from the House, which have been ignored by the Senate,” he added. “We will change that. We will change that once and for all.”
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review reveal who they voted for today and describe the atmosphere at their polling places. Then they like a new video from Adam Carolla telling people not to vote for anyone who promises to fight for you on issues people deal with themselves. They also shake their heads at the fact that the only way for candidates to get air time anymore is to lob crude insults at their opponents. And they react to Donald Trump telling Sean Hannity that every immigration plan – except the wall – is negotiable.
