Outspoken Christ-follower Denzel Washington is making headlines once again, not just for his latest film but for revealing a divine encounter he had one day during his devotional time.

The supernatural story came up while the award-winning actor was giving reporters a behind-the-scenes look at his new movie, “Gladiator II.”

“I was put on this earth to share, and to be an example, of the power, and wisdom, and grace, and mercy of God in my life,” he begins.

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Washington, who has freely shared in the past about his lifelong pursuit of Jesus Christ, then opened up about the powerful experience that happened next.

“I was sitting on a yacht listening to a song called ‘The Face of God.’ And nobody was up. I was in my prayer and meditation, reading my Bible. And I’m like ‘Lord, everybody can see Your face, I wanna see it…’ And while I said it, when I said, ‘I wanna see your face,’ I heard, ‘Look to your left.'”

“So I look to my left, and I look and I picked up my phone and I went {makes clicking sound}. And this is what I saw,” he said while handing his phone to the interviewer.

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The reporter is shocked as he looks at the photo on the phone showing a face in the sky. The shape of a mouth, a nose and eyes are visible among the clouds.

“So my life is not the movies I make,” Washington continues. “That’s what I’ve been put here to do, or that’s proof of the source of what I’ve been given to do on this earth, and it’s not acting.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: In reporting about the faith journeys of high-profile individuals who are seeking Christ, CBN does not endorse past or current behavior that may not line up with the Word of God. We are simply reporting positive developments in their spiritual journey. As always, we encourage our readers to pray for anyone and everyone in the news, that the fruit of God would grow in all of our lives.

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A school in Finland has cancelled a concert of Handel’s “Messiah” performed by the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the Helsinki Chamber Choir over concerns the recital’s Christian themes might offend some students.

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Officials with the school hosting the concert in question made the decision after learning about a case in Hämeenlinna, a Finnish city, where a child objected to songs about the life of Jesus performed at an undisclosed school. Ultimately, the National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal decided the non-Christian pupils should be compensated 1,500 euros (or $1,562) for their offense, local outlets reported.

However, on Nov. 19, the city’s Education and Welfare Committee voted 6-5 no payment was due to the offended school students.

The show in Hämeenlinna was one of three performances based on faith-filled themes. The first recital was held in 2022, with subsequent recitals in 2023 and 2024. At least one non-religious student watching the 2022 show was purportedly offended.

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Finnish news outlet Helsingin Sanomat reported the “religiosity of the concert was not announced in advance, but [the school] apologized after the concert.” It was only the first show accused of being “discriminatory.”

A hymn was removed from the second performance in 2023 and some apparently voiced concerns about a parish choir at the third event.

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Western culture—and its roots in Judeo-Christian values—is a phenomenon worth celebrating, according to Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies.

The famed “Lord of the Rings” star recently spoke with CBN News, explaining the Western world ought to be “so proud” of the culture it has created, noting its mooring in Christian principles.

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He described the current generations as “the inheritors of one of the most glorious accomplishments that mankind has ever had,” referring to “Western, European, Judeo-Christian civilization.”

“Has it got flaws, yes,” he said. “But let’s not forget it was actually those Christians who said, ‘Slavery is morally wrong and we must get rid of it. … We must extirpate it in the world,’ and they did so. … Our whole democracy comes from those early Christians.”

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Speaking of Western styles of government—which, in the U.S., is a constitutional republic—Rhys-Davies credited Christians and deists with establishing the freest form of self-governance in the world.

Early believers, he said, argued, “Surely, what I believe in and my devotion to my God must trump the emperor’s insistence that I worship him.” The actor explained Christians advocated for the “right of individual conscience,” to “associate with people who think the way you think,” the freedom “to express what you think,” and the “right not to be imprisoned for your beliefs.”

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Jason “Sundance” Head, winner of season 11 of NBC’s “The Voice,” is praising God after surviving an accidental gunshot wound to the stomach.

The 46-year-old singer was out in the woods by himself for a solo camping trip on Nov. 15, when the bullet pierced his stomach, barely missing his vital organs, his agent told USA Today.

In a video posted to his Facebook account, Head—the son of rockabilly singer Roy Head—recounted the harrowing incident, explaining he always travels with a .22-caliber revolver, one that “looks just like the kind of gun you’d see in a Western movie.” He said he keeps the gun in a quick-draw holster.

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“I really don’t know what happened still,” he recalled, remembering putting on his backpack with the holster sitting in the passenger seat. Head said he was shot as he turned and began walking away.

“It happened that fast,” he added. “That revolver slid out of the case and it hit the doorjamb on the Jeep on the floor step and it shot me.”

After realizing he was hurt, Head said he reached into the pocket of his jeans to pull out his phone, realizing his pockets “were already full of blood.” It was then the singer-songwriter knew he needed medical attention.

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The entertainer’s wife, Misty, quickly took to social media to urge “prayer warriors” to pray for her husband, who was taken by medevac to the hospital at University of Texas at Tyler, where the trauma team began swiftly working to save Head.

Ultimately, Head credited the “good Lord above” and the “wonderful first responders” as well as the care specialists at the hospital for saving his life.

“I was sure I was going to die,” he said. “It was one of the craziest things that ever happened to me.”

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Outrage has been brewing online over a video of a “priestess of the goddess” delivering a pagan “prayer” during a Tulsa City Council meeting last week. 

The independent media outlet, the Oklahoma Lion, released a video of the council meeting over the weekend. 

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“An unnamed Tulsa City Council Member invited a ‘priestess of the goddess’ to say what some are calling a ‘satanic prayer’ at the Nov. 20th Tulsa City Council meeting,” reads the caption. 

Tulsa City Councilmember Crista Patrick is seen in the video actively participating and holding her hands up during the pagan invocation. However, it has not been confirmed if Patrick is the member who invited the woman. 

According to her official Tulsa Council page, Patrick calls herself a “healer” of “wounded spirits.”

“Satan is trying to establish a foothold, but Oklahoma is going to be a shining city on the hill,” Gov. Kevin Stitt wrote on X. “Tulsa City Council needs to stand strong against actions like this, and Tulsans need to remember who allowed this at the ballot box.”

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Satan is trying to establish a foothold, but Oklahoma is going to be a shining city on the hill.

Tulsa City Council needs to stand strong against actions like this, and Tulsans need to remember who allowed this at the ballot box.

— Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) November 24, 2024

Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters echoed that sentiment writing on X, “Satanic prayers are welcome in Hell but not in Oklahoma.”

“Satanism is not a religion,” he argued. “Tulsa should immediately move to ensure this never happens again and the person who allowed it should be held accountable.”

Worship leader Sean Feucht posted the video to X, and many of his followers are calling on the name of Jesus to counter any spiritual alignment with “dark forces.”

“In the mighty name of Jesus, I break the fruits of her words and witchcraft, I break all agreements with the dark forces she does business with, and I release order and light over that area because OUR God is a God of order, and a God of light.  In the mighty name of Christ Jesus,” one person wrote. 

Another responded, “I rebuke this satanic prayer and render it powerless over our nation. We claim our Savior Jesus Christ back over this nation and the gates of hell can not have her no longer. In Jesus’ name Amen!!”

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The Israeli government has approved a ceasefire deal with the Iranian-backed army of Hezbollah to put a stop to the group’s relentless rocket barrages that have terrorized civilians across northern Israel for nearly 14 months.

The decision came after Israeli warplanes struck terrorist targets across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least 24 people while also warning civilians to evacuate before its strikes.

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Israel also achieved a primary goal of the war on Tuesday as its ground troops reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River to push Hezbollah’s terrorist army away from its border.

Even while announcing the ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained steadfast in warning, “If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack. For every violation, we will attack with might.”

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Israel declared that the ceasefire would take effect beginning Wednesday.

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The transgender issue reaches far and wide and affects hundreds of thousands of Americans, and now churches are starting to address it. One in northern Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C., has started a support group for parents with trans-identifying children.

It’s an issue almost no one discussed five years ago but today is impossible to ignore. The transgender crisis affects an estimated 1.6 million Americans and is now so common that pastors are weighing in.

Marty Baker is the senior pastor at Burke Community Church in Burke, Virginia.

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“As gender ideology began to surface in 2017-2018, began to be infiltrated into the school systems, taught to children, that type of thing, well by definition, you started having parents wondering, ‘what is this?'” Baker said in an interview with CBN News.

He wrote his doctoral dissertation on transgenderism and consistently teaches on it from the pulpit.

“We’ve taught [the congregation] a lot about the information, the apologetics of it, how to defend, how to push truth as opposed to error, those types of things, so they’re very educated on that, but what do you do with all of the life stories? And there’s lots of those,” Baker explained.

He says those life stories came up during a women’s retreat at the church. More than 100 women had questions and needed wisdom.

Ed Stetzer, the dean at Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology, told CBN News, “I think a lot of churches five years ago weren’t talking about this. But the last five years has seen such an acceleration, I think it’s time for churches to be teaching more on the topic.”

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Stetzer says Christians need to speak on this issue in a biblical way that’s filled with grace. He sees a big opportunity for the church.

“I think this is an opportunity for the church of Jesus Christ to actually put forth a beautiful image of sexuality and gender that I think will actually call to people who are living in a confused – and we’re all in a broken world – but just unsure about those things,” he explained. “Let’s say, ‘The Bible gives us a path. We want to walk with you on that path.'”

Burke Community Church member Dr. Susan Ashton-Lazaroae deals directly with teens on this path as a pediatrician.

“Thankfully the number of children presenting with gender dysphoria has decreased in the past couple of years, which is truly encouraging,” Ashton-Lazaroae told CBN News.

To read the full story, visit our content partners at CBN News.

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The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, along with his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas officials. The warrants turn Netanyahu and Gallant into internationally wanted suspects.

Netanyahu is condemning the ICC’s arrest warrant, saying Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions.”

In a statement released by his office, he said: “There is nothing more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza.”

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The warrants accuse Netanyahu and Gallant of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the war in Gaza, and accuse Hamas for the October attacks that triggered Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory. The ICC decision would put Netanyahu at risk of arrest if he traveled to certain countries.  

The warrants come as Israel fights wars with Hamas on its southern border and Hezbollah on its northern border to finally put a stop to the terrorism, including ongoing rocket and drone attacks on Israeli civilians.  

Biden Admin Pushes Another Ceasefire Deal

U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein arrived in Israel late Wednesday in the latest attempt to negotiate a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. Yet, some believe the deal would protect Hezbollah and its sponsor, Iran.

Hochstein concluded talks with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. The U.S. envoy concluded, “The meeting today built, on the meeting (Tuesday) and made additional progress.” He indicated he would go to Israel to try to “bring this to a close.”

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However, a prominent sticking point in recent days has been the insistence that Israel can’t have the freedom to respond to Hezbollah violations of the agreement. “It is not allowed for the Israeli to violate and kill and enter whenever it wants,” said the group’s leader, Naim Kassem.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar countered that the Jewish nation must have that right. “We will need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations,” Sa’ar noted.

Sa’ar added that Israel must prevent Hezbollah from ever again threatening northern Israel. “We will have to enforce that they won’t be able to again build their force in Lebanon – they won’t be able to bring again ammunition, missiles.”

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Former Rep. Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his bid for U.S. Attorney General after being nominated for the post by President-elect Trump.

Republican senators, whose duty involves confirming presidential nominees, had been raising questions about the nominee after a series of allegations.

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“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz said in a statement. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”

Trump said in a social media post, “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”

I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance…

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 21, 2024

The House Ethics Committee had conducted an investigation into sexual allegations against Gaetz. However, the committee did not release a report because Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress after he resigned to pursue the attorney general position.

An attorney for two women says they told the Ethics Committee that Gaetz paid them for sex, and one of them alleged she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old minor. More recently, new allegations surfaced involving 27 Venmo payments from Gaetz to the women. Their attorney said some of that money was for sex.

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Gaetz denied all charges and he noted that a Justice Department investigation resulted in no charges against him.

GOP senators had said all the details would be investigated at the confirmation hearings. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) said, “The reality is all that information is going to be on display at the hearing. Think Brett Kavanaugh.”

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There is much talk now of Israel annexing the West Bank (biblical Judea and Samaria) or at least vast swaths of it, to protect the Jewish communities inhabiting the land.

Eytan Gilboa, professor of American-Israel relations at Tel Aviv’s Bar-Ilan University, noted, “What happened in Gaza really destroyed the chances for the establishment of a Palestinian state, as well as peace.”

Currently, Jewish cities and towns are so mingled with Arab population centers, and it’s difficult to see how they could be cleanly divided into two nations.

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“I think it’s impossible to speak about a two-state solution because it will never happen. You cannot draw a line that can divide and separate the population,” said Israel Ganz, head of Samaria’s Binyamin Regional Council.

Regardless of Donald Trump’s views on Judea and Samaria, his choices for foreign policy positions come with strong pro-Israel backgrounds, including Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Elise Stefanik for U.N. ambassador, and a choice many are praising – former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee for U.S. ambassador to Israel.

“I look forward to going to work for my country, my president, and for the people of America and to be an able representative to my friends in the Jewish state of Israel,” Huckabee told CBN’s Gordon Robertson on The 700 Club on Monday.

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Huckabee, who first came to Israel more than 40 years ago, says he is passionate about his calling. He believes the U.S. president should not decide weighty matters such as annexing Judea and Samaria. That should be Israel’s call alone.

Huckabee has said he doesn’t consider a two-state solution to be practical and he has called Judea and Samaria the “Promised Land.”

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