The new international headquarters for the Satanic Temple, which says its mission is to promote separation of church and state not devil worship, opened to the public on Thursday in a Massachusetts city known historically for persecuting witches accused of being possessed by the devil.

It was in Salem, the home for the Satanic Temple, that 20 people were executed in the notorious witch trials in the 1690s, an important event in the history of colonial America.

At its opening event on Thursday evening, the Temple, which also bills itself as an art gallery, more than a dozen visitors perused rooms full of art in which ghastly figures and pentagrams figured prominently.

The center’s most arresting artwork is a one-ton, 7-foot () bronze statue of Baphomet, a goat-headed winged deity that has been associated with Satanism and the occult.

The group is perhaps best known for attempts have the statue positioned next to monuments to the Bible’s Ten Commandments in Oklahoma and Arkansas, in a protest to perceived state support for one religion over another.

Officials in those states fought off the efforts.

There were also historical exhibits at the Temple, including a documentary chronicling incidents of people being persecuted throughout the ages as alleged devil worshippers.

The Satanic Temple does not promote devil worship as described in the Bible, and says its mission is to reinforce the separation of church and state, encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, and promote “practical common sense and justice.”

Nera Specter, the director of the center, said the group has been in Salem for several months working to set up its headquarters.

She said people in the city had so far been largely welcoming. She noted that at public events, activists and community members had invoked the violence of Salem’s past to express solidarity with gays, who commonly face intolerance, threats and violence over their sexuality.

“Everything that has been reiterated is learning from our mistakes and not pointing and screaming ‘witch’ or ‘devil’,” she said.

Officials and residents in Salem had so far expressed few objections to the Satanic Temple center.

“It’s not really that big a deal,” said Salem City Council President Josh Turiel “We’ve had weirder things pretty much on every other street corner.”

The seaside community about 20 miles (32 km) north of Boston has taken to playing up the darker aspects of its history. Its downtown has the Salem Witch Museum and occult shops, which draw tourists ahead of Halloween on Oct. 31. {eoa}

© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

Out of the blue, and without warning, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump released a second list of individuals he would consider as potential replacements for Associate Justice Scalia at the United States Supreme Court.

His campaign billed the list as a “final list,” saying the new list “builds upon the highly praised list of choices” he named in May 2016. Trump camp insiders say those on the list were selected, primarily on “constitutional principles,” with input from “respected conservative leaders.”

The list, in its entirety:

• Keith Blackwell is a justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. He was appointed to the position in 2012. He had previously served on the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Before serving on the bench, Justice Blackwell was a Deputy Special Attorney General of the State of Georgia, an Assistant District Attorney in Cobb County, and a commercial litigator in private practice. Justice Blackwell is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law.
• Charles Canady is a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida. He has served in that role since 2008, and he served as the court’s chief justice from 2010 to 2012. Prior to his appointment, Justice Canady served as a judge of the Florida Second District Court of Appeal and as a member of the United States House of Representatives for four terms. Justice Canady is a graduate of Yale Law School.
• Neil Gorsuch is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He was appointed to the position in 2006. Judge Gorsuch previously served in the Justice Department as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General. Judge Gorsuch was a Marshall Scholar and received his law degree from Harvard. He clerked for Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy.
• Mike Lee is the Junior U.S. Senator from Utah and currently serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Utah and as a Supreme Court Clerk for Justice Alito.
• Edward Mansfield is a justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. He was appointed to the court in 2011 and retained by voters in 2012. Justice Mansfield previously served as a judge of the Iowa Court of Appeals. He also teaches law at Drake University as an adjunct professor. Justice Mansfield is a graduate of Yale Law School.
• Federico Moreno is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He previously served as a state and county court judge in Florida. Judge Moreno is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law.
• Margaret A. Ryan has been a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces since 2006. Judge Ryan served in the Marine Corps through deployments in the Philippines and the Gulf War. She then attended Notre Dame Law School through a military scholarship and served as a JAG officer for four years. Judge Ryan clerked for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the Fourth Circuit and Justice Clarence Thomas.
• Amul Thapar is a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, serving since his appointment in 2007, when he became the first South Asian Article III judge. He has taught law students at the University of Cincinnati and Georgetown. Judge Thapar has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C. and the Southern District of Ohio. Immediately prior to his judicial appointment, Judge Thapar was the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Judge Thapar received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
• Timothy Tymkovich is the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Judge Tymkovich was appointed to the bench in 2003. He previously served as Colorado Solicitor General. Judge Tymkovich is a graduate of the University of Colorado College of Law.
• Robert Young is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Michigan. He was appointed to the court in 1999, and became part of a majority of justices who embraced originalism and led what one scholar described as a “textualism revolution.” Justice Young previously served as a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals. Chief Justice Young is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

The Trump campaign made it clear these names are added to the previous list of potential Supreme Court nominees, not in place of them, to create a “definitive” list of potential federal court nominees. Trump himself commented on the new list with a statement provided by his campaign along with the new list.

“We have a very clear choice in this election,” he said. “The freedoms we cherish and the constitutional values and principles our country was founded on are in jeopardy. The responsibility is greater than ever to protect and uphold these freedoms and I will appoint justices who, like Justice Scalia, will protect our liberty with the highest regard for the Constitution.

‘This list is definitive and I will choose only from it in picking future Justices of the United States Supreme Court. I would like to thank the Federalist Society, The Heritage Foundation and the many other individuals who helped in composing this list of 21 highly respected people who are the kind of scholars that we need to preserve the very core of our country, and make it greater than ever before.”

In order to make transformation effective, each person has to make a firm personal decision to fight for freedom.

In my ministry experience, I have found that I cannot want someone’s transformation more than they do. We each have to make a decision to fight the spiritual battle of thought that wages over us. I have to make a daily decision with God that I am willing to do whatever it takes to walk out my freedom in Him. This is true discipleship.

I cannot want someone’s transformation more than they do.

Unfortunately, we are in a challenging position today. To try and gain a sense of peace and sanity, most people are engaging therapeutic models of counseling that address the branches of thought and behavior, but never get to the root. I believe that our journey to find healing and peace can be fruitless if we are not addressing our spiritual enemy and removing his footholds from our lives as the Bible teaches.

The Scriptures help us see the invisible world so we can walk with daily discernment and a higher level of awareness. Without this realization, most ministry to people will be extremely challenging.

Counseling has its place, but we cannot counsel someone who is under the influence of a stronghold. The result is that we get drained in session after session and we talk in circles with no fruit. Counselors, leaders and pastors get drained and exhausted under the endless masses of people who need help—not to mention they need help themselves!

We cannot help people get free unless we teach them the invisible battle facing them.

Here is one of the problems: We are trying to counsel or persuade people into transformation without addressing the invisible battle of thoughts that they are tangled in. In order for God’s way of thinking to be firmly established, the enemy’s tools need to be kicked out!

People are desperate for freedom and so many need healing in their bodies. What they need the most is their broken hearts healed, strongholds removed and someone to walk with them and disciple them in God’s way of thinking.

The world is crying out for help. This is the reason Jesus made the call for disciples. A disciple is one that is rooted and established on God’s way of thinking, so that when the enemy comes in like a flood, they are able to discern the spirits and know where their thoughts are coming from. They will be able to identify a thought from God and with maturity, manifest the fruit of God’s thinking with power. {eoa}

Mark DeJesus has been equipping people in a full-time capacity since 1995, serving in various roles, including teaching people of all ages, communicating through music, authoring books, leading and mentoring. Mark’s deepest love is his family: his wife, Melissa; son, Maximus; and daughter, Abigail. Mark is a teacher, author and mentor who uses many communication mediums, including the written word, a weekly radio podcast show and videos. His deepest call involves equipping people to live as overcomers. Through understanding inside out transformation, Mark’s message involves getting to the root of issues that contribute to the breakdown of our relationships, our health and our day-to-day peace. He is passionately reaching his world with a transforming message of love, healing and freedom. Out of their own personal renewal, Mark and Melissa founded Turning Hearts Ministries, a ministry dedicated to inside out transformation. Mark also founded Transformed You, a communication platform for Mark’s teachings, writing and broadcasts that are designed to encourage people in their journey of transformation.

For the original article, visit .

Leaders must be continual learners. That is the message from Dr. Charles Kelly, who visited my office recently. I interviewed him for a podcast for the Strang Report. What he shared was so good I wanted to highlight the podcast and share his concepts here.

I’ve known Dr. Kelly for many years. He’s widely respected in the Assemblies of God. He served in administrative roles in the North Carolina District of the Assemblies of God, and during his tenure, the district grew from 90 churches to 310. He also served as the chairman of the board for Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, which is where I first met him.  

Dr. Kelly is working on a book, and he visited Charisma Media headquarters to talk to Creation House Publisher Dr. Steve Greene about working with our company. When I found out about his book and the concepts, I was excited.  

He has the idea that leaders need “white space,” which is another way of saying boundaries, and the fact that in that white space is the leader’s own time for himself. Those closest to that leader should not let others interfere.    

I also asked him about which books have influenced him. One of them is by J. Oswald Sanders, and you’ll be interested to read some of the concepts that he shares.  

I encourage you to tune in and listen to the podcast, and to subscribe if you haven’t already. Please share it and Dr. Kelly’s concepts on social media and with friends.

While one of America’s largest cities is being ripped in two, most Americans appear to be far more interested in the drama surrounding Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s divorce.

As Charlotte braces for a third night of rioting and violence, the mainstream media is full of headlines such as “Welp, the Jolie-Pitt Divorce Got Real Depressing Real Fast” and “Even the Dalai Lama has something to say about Brangelina’s divorce.”

Yes, the “Brangelina divorce” is an important cultural moment that illustrates our ongoing moral and social decay, but what is going on in Charlotte is far more important. Trust in our most important institutions is deeply broken, and Americans are increasingly choosing chaos and violence over peaceful discourse. For a very long time I have been warning that these kinds of riots were coming, and the thin veneer of civilization that we all take for granted every day is starting to rapidly disappear.

There had been hope that things would settle down after the first couple of nights of chaos in Charlotte, but as I write this article protesters have already massed downtown despite a midnight curfew imposed by Mayor Jennifer Roberts:

Demonstrators chanted “release the tape” while briefly blocking an intersection near Bank of America headquarters in the heart of the city’s business district. They then continued marching as police officers watched. Members of the National Guard carrying rifles were also deployed in front of office buildings to head off another night of violence in this city on edge.

Mayor Jennifer Roberts has signed a curfew order from midnight until 6 a.m., despite Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney saying he saw no need for a curfew.

Personally, I can definitely understand why a curfew was imposed. Nobody should want to see a repeat of the senseless violence of the past two nights. At one point on Wednesday night, enraged protesters actually attempted to toss a news photographer into a roaring fire:

Among the many reports of violence from the Charlotte, North Carolina unrest Wednesday night was one particular shocking example: rioters tried to throw a news photographer into a burning fire.

Local CW affiliate WCCB was on the scene and tweeted out images of the fire and their initial report.

If you are protesting for justice, you sure aren’t going to get it by trying to burn people alive. I don’t know how anyone out there can possibly justify the kinds of things that we have been seeing in Charlotte.

In addition to trying to throw an innocent photographer into a fire, the “protesters” have also engaged in other forms of violence that are extremely alarming. The following summary originally comes from Paul Joseph Watson:

• Stealing and looting cash registers from local businesses is not a legitimate form of protest
• A “protester” shooting another “protester” is not a legitimate form of protest.
• Physically attacking reporters is not a legitimate form of protest.
• Throwing rocks off bridges at passing vehicles full of families is not a legitimate form of protest
• Beating up innocent people in parking lots because they’re white is not a legitimate form of protest.
• Smashing up apartment windows where black people live to “protest” in favor of Black Lives Matter is not a legitimate form of protest.
• Trashing your own neighborhood is not a legitimate form of protest.
• Looting the Charlotte Hornets team store so you can steal basketball merchandise is not a legitimate form of protest
• Attempting to hijack cars and terrify their innocent occupants is not a legitimate form of protest.

These sorts of things are not supposed to happen in Charlotte.

We have already seen major rioting in impoverished cities such as Baltimore, Ferguson, Milwaukee and Baton Rouge. But Charlotte is supposed to be different. Over the past decade, Charlotte has been one of the more prosperous major cities in America. Just check out this excerpt from an NBC News editorial:

Charlotte isn’t a crumbling urban ghetto. Charlotte is the place you move when you want sunshine, and a shiny new house in a sparkling new subdivision. Charlotte is a prosperous city where you not only can get a job in the bustling and very clean Uptown area, but that job affords you wonderful weekend getaways to a cozy cabin in the Appalachian Mountains but an hour away, or to the sandy shores of the Atlantic, also an easy drive from the Queen City. Charlotte is a magnet for the young and old alike and its growth is the envy of not a few urban mayors.

It matters that Charlotte has been celebrated by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best places to live in the entire nation. It filled Charlotte’s residents with pride when other media outlets heralded their city as one of the very best places to raise a family in the entire state of North Carolina.

If rioting like this could happen in Charlotte, then it could happen just about anywhere.

Now is a time when we need to forgive, come together and learn to work with one another again. I really like what Donald Trump had to say about this:

“We all have to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes and see things through their eyes, and then get to work fixing our very wounded country,” Trump said.

Pointing to the violent protests over a police-involved shooting in Charlotte, N.C., Trump said, “Our country looks bad to the world, especially when we are supposed to be the world’s leader. How can we lead when we can’t even control our own cities?” he asked.

Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of calls for love and forgiveness.

Instead, most of the discussion is focused on anger, hatred, strife and discord.

A house divided cannot stand, and America is more divided today than I have ever seen it in my entire lifetime.

As I stated yesterday, a lot more chaos and violence are coming. As a society we have been going down the wrong road for decades, and now we are reaping a very bitter harvest.

Hillary Clinton is the political equivalent of a chameleon, capable of changing herself and her image at the drop of a hat to fit the environment in which she finds herself.

But the Hillary Clinton she showed the world in a new video that began circulating on the Internet Thursday afternoon is probably not one she wants too many to see. In fact, most political pundits who have seen it aren’t entirely sure what to make of it.

One thing’s for sure: It conjures up memories of a lot of bad moments in electoral politics from the past.

While not quite seething with rage, the Clinton depicted in the video is stern and almost shouting to the audience. If she was trying to energize the labor union members it was meant to address, she failed.

As one observer put it, “She looks like the angry old schoolmarm, wagging her finger at the naughty kid.”

“I will fight back against so-called ‘right-to-work,'” she said. “Right-to-work is wrong for workers and wrong for America. Now having said all this, why aren’t I 50 points ahead, you might ask. Well, the choice for working families has never been clearer. I need your help to get Donald Trump’s record out to everybody.”

Herman Cain, a 2012 Republican presidential candidate who has had his own share of campaign facepalms, called it the “worst 58 seconds of politics ever.” Those who remember the “Howard Dean Yell” after the 2004 Iowa Caucus or Michael Dukakis’ photo shoot in a tank in 1988 may decide it’s a tossup.

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) thinks he’s figured out why no one was prosecuted following the FBI’s yearlong investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state.

Just about every major player in the investigation was granted immunity.

According to a new report Friday morning, the Department of Justice provided varying levels of immunity to three additional top Clinton aides. They are her former chief of staff, Cheryl Mills; former director of the State Department’s Office of Information Resources Management, John Bentel; and 2008 Clinton campaign legal aide Heather Samuelson.

“No wonder they couldn’t prosecute a case,” Chaffetz said. “They were handing out immunity deals like candy.”

Reportedly, Mills’ immunity deal pertained to her allowing the FBI access to her personal laptop computer. She did so on the condition that she could not be prosecuted for anything found on it. Samuelson was given a similar immunity offer.

The FBI informed Chaffetz and another member of the oversight committee, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), of the additional immunity deals on Friday. Jordan has yet to comment, but Chaffetz was clearly unhappy with the FBI and Director James Comey.

“This is beyond explanation,” he said in a statement put out by his office. “I’ve lost confidence in this investigation and I question the genuine effort in which it was carried out. Immunity deals should not be a requirement for cooperating with the FBI.”

And, in another breaking development Friday morning, the State Department announced in federal court the FBI handed over an additional 2,800 emails that Clinton’s lawyers hadn’t handed over after her tenure as secretary of state. It says it will begin “rolling out” those emails next month—and according to Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, who announced the news, less than 10 percent of those emails will be made public before the Nov. 8 election.

“The State Department is being obstructionist,” he said during a Friday morning press conference.

I’ve asked several thousand men a golden question about themselves over the years. All have been eager to respond.

Actually, one was not, but as far as I can remember, everyone else. It is virtually a perfect question. Why?

Perhaps because … who doesn’t want to talk about themselves? And no doubt a big part of it is that when I ask I have a non-threatening and non-judgmental smile on my face, people can really sense I’m sincere, really want an answer, and I give the signal that I want the a) long; and b) real answer.

Sometimes I lead with it, but usually it’s after I ask what they do for work and if they have a family. To keep those short, I don’t ask many follow up questions.

Then I ask the Golden Question: “Where are you on your spiritual journey?”

It’s so good because everyone has given this some thought. I don’t use it as a trick; I really want to know. Invariably they say something that I’ve been through myself. So it becomes a dialogue. I never act like I have all the answers, because I really don’t think I do.

After we have shared, and depending on what they say and how the Spirit leads, I either a) invite them for breakfast, lunch, or coffee to talk further; b) invite them to our Bible study or church; or c) if I think we are having a one-time encounter, I give them a book.

Actually, I offer everyone a book even if I will never see them again. And if someone is clearly ready to become a Christian, I read them a tract and help them to pray the prayer to ask forgiveness and receive Jesus.

Sometimes it’s just a seed on the rocky path. But usually it’s something they have given a lot of thought—cable repair guys, auto technicians, flight attendants, dental assistants, you name it. I believe that several hundreds of times people have been brought to me because the Lord knew that I would be faithful to share the gospel with them, and they received Christ.

First Corinthians 4:2 says, “Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.” So I like to ask—all the time about many things: What does faithful look like? My job is to be faithful, not to produce a particular outcome.

My definition of evangelism is simply taking someone as far as they want to go toward Jesus at that moment. These last two sentences take all the pressure off.

“Where are you on your spiritual journey?” Will you ask one person you meet over the next 24 hours this question?

I predict you will like it. And as it catches on, it will give you a whole new dimension to your personal ministry. {eoa}

Patrick Morley is the founder of Man in the Mirror Ministries. For the original article, visit .

The prosperity gospel espouses that Jesus wants all His followers to be wealthy. But that’s just the beginning.  

In order to get wealth, one must “sow” wealth into a ministry to get exponential wealth—and health—back.  

“Does God want everyone to be rich? I heard someone on TV claim that this is what the Bible teaches, but I wonder if it’s true. We struggle every month just to pay our bills, and yet my husband and I have always tried to put God first,” one reader asked Billy Graham. 

The evangelist didn’t even hesitate in his answer.  

He says: 

No, the Bible doesn’t promise that everyone who follows Jesus will become wealthy (nor does it promise that we’ll always be free of sickness). Nor is money to be the most important thing in our lives, even if God does entrust it to us. The Bible says, “If riches increase, do not set your heart on them” (Ps. 62:10, MEV).
After all, Jesus wasn’t rich, nor were His first disciples—not at all. In fact, the only disciple who really cared about money was Judas, whose greed and unbelief caused him to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Repeatedly the Bible warns us against being consumed by money, or placing it first in our lives instead of Christ. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. … You cannot serve both God and money” (Matt. 6:24, MEV).
But when we know Christ we are rich—not necessarily with this world’s goods, but with spiritual riches! Think of it a moment. Can anything this world offers be greater than God’s forgiveness? Can anything be greater than Christ’s presence with us every day? Can anything be greater than the privilege of prayer, or being part of Christ’s family or being used to bless others?
Thank God every day for His blessings, and make it your goal to put Christ first in your lives. Most of all, thank Him that when we know Christ, we have “an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away … kept in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4, MEV).

A white Tulsa, Oklahoma police officer, who fatally shot an unarmed black man whose vehicle had broken down and blocked a street last week, turned herself in to authorities on a manslaughter charge early on Friday, jail records showed.

Betty Shelby, 42, was booked into the Tulsa County Jail just after 1:00 a.m. local time after being charged on Thursday with first-degree manslaughter in the death of 40-year-old Terence Crutcher.

Shelby was released on $50,000 bond and is scheduled for an initial court appearance on Sept. 30.

Court papers filed by the Tulsa County office accuse Shelby of overreacting and escalating the situation that led to the shooting of Crutcher last Friday. If convicted, she faces at least four years in prison, lawyers said.

The incident, which was captured on police videos, has intensified scrutiny over the use of excessive force and claims of racial bias by U.S. law enforcement officials against minorities.

Charlotte in North Carolina has seen three nights of protests, some of them violent, after the fatal shooting of a black man by police there on Tuesday.

In two videos provided by Tulsa police, Crutcher can be seen with his hands in the air shortly before he was shot.

Tulsa police have said Crutcher was unarmed and there was no weapon in the vehicle. They released the videos, one of which was taken from a police helicopter and the other from a dashboard camera in a patrol car, in a bid for transparency.

Shelby said she was traveling to another call when she came upon Crutcher, whose broken-down SUV was blocking a road. She said he did not respond to her questions and did not respond to her commands to stop as he walked to his vehicle with his hands in the air, it said.