Here’s a quick summary of the top stories on :

Ex-Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz Joins Transformation Church in Tulsa

In his first staff position at a church since his removal as lead pastor at Hillsong New York, Carl Lentz is joining Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Transformation Church is a massive nondenominational church in a city filled with them, and makes an even bigger impact on the community around it.

According to Transformation Church’s Executive Pastor Tammy McQuarters, the church leadership believes Lentz and his family have gone through a season of restoration following his highly publicized fall from leadership.

Brian Houston’s Legal Troubles Mount, Admits to DUI Charge

A month prior to resigning as global senior pastor at Hillsong Church, Pastor Brian Houston was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in California, Houston posted on Instagram earlier this week.

Several news reports state that records from the Superior Court of California in Orange County show that Houston was arrested on Feb. 26, 2022. He had been driving with a blood alcohol content of more than .08%. He also failed to display two license plates on the vehicle he was driving.

“In February 2022, and in the lead up to my departure from the role of senior pastor of Hillsong Church, I was unfortunately charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in the USA,” Houston’s Instagram post read. “I made the foolish decision to drive just 2 or 3 hundred metres (yards) to park the car and I am grateful to God no damage or injury occurred.”

Holy Spirit Sparks Youthful Revival in Hispanic AG Churches

Evangelist Mario Murillo said in a recent interview with Charisma News that he believes “that the wave of revival in the Latin churches in America is going to end up being the most forceful spiritual awakening that we have. It will transcend anything else.”

The Assemblies of God agrees. The AG recently took part in a Lifeway Research Hispanic Church survey as a part of what is believed to be one of the largest surveys of Protestant Hispanic congregations invited to participate in a single research study as two dozen denominations and church networks participated.

Recently, the overall findings were released, revealing that Hispanic churches are a young and growing church community that has great promise for future growth. In addition, the statistics for the Assemblies of God responses were pulled separately—some of which compared favorably with the overall Protestant results, and some that differed significantly. {eoa}

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What did the most successful legends of the Bible, Founding Fathers and evangelists do when faced with harrowing situations they were unable to overcome in their own strength?

They turned to God, kneeling down in prayer and humility before the Lord.

These leaders of days past recognized that God is the God of the impossible, and when faced with problems they were unable to bring to resolution, they turned to the Almighty in the faith and knowledge that He can overcome all obstacles.

Now, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., from Knoxville, is speaking up against the violence and division plaguing the nation as it continues its path away from biblical principles.

Speaking from the Capitol on Tuesday, Burchett shared how affected he was by the shooting in Nashville as a Tennessean.

“It is horrendous,” Burchett said. “I lived in Nashville; I was in the state legislature for 16 years. It’s just a horrible situation.”

Burchett continued by saying he does not believe the answer to this violence in America will be solved in the halls of Congress.

“We’re not going to fix it,” he said. “Criminals are going to be criminals. My daddy, who fought in the Second World War, fought in the Pacific, fought the Japanese, and he told me, he said, ‘Buddy, if somebody wants to take you out and doesn’t mind losing their life, there’s not a whole heck of a lot you can do about it.'”

“We’ve got a mental health issue in this country,” he declared. “We need to start addressing it.”

“It doesn’t matter what state it happens in; we’re all Americans,” Burchett added. “It doesn’t matter the color of their skin. They all bleed red. They’re bleeding a lot.”

“I don’t see any real role that we can do other than mess things up, honestly, because of the situation,” he said. “Like I said, I don’t think a criminal’s going to stop from [getting] guns; you know, you can print them out on computer now, 3-D printing. I don’t think you’re going to stop the gun violence. I think you’ve got to change people’s hearts.”

Therein lies the crux of the issue at hand.

Violence is a symptom of the heart, and has been since Cain murdered Abel in the book of Genesis (see Gen. 4:1-16). He did not need a rifle or even a knife to murder his brother; all that was required was for him to allow the anger he felt to permeate his heart and misdirect it toward his brother. That anger used a rock to murder, just as any tool or weapon can be used by a person with an unclean heart to commit horrendous acts of violence.

What Burchett said next was truly the cure to the symptom plaguing the world today.

“As a Christian, as we talk about in the church, and I’ve said this many times; I think we really need a revival in this country,” he said. “I think our ministers and our communities of faith need to come together and start preaching about love from the Bible; it’s in the Bible, from the pulpit, and maybe that could go a long ways towards it.

“I’m idealistic, brother,” Burchett concluded. “I didn’t come up here ’cause I thought I was going to get my butt kicked. I thought I was going to do something. I believe in the Scripture, and that’s what we’re commanded to do.”

Speaking in the wake of the events that took place on the campus of Asbury University in February, whether people call it a revival, outpouring or awakening, Burchett highlighted the necessity for America to repent and turn back toward God.

The recent outpouring on Asbury’s campus revealed how people in this country are hungry, even desperate, for God.

The movement would not have caught national headlines the way it did and seen tens of thousands of people flock to the campus if that hunger and desire were not in their hearts.

Inviting the Spirit of the Lord back into the hearts of Americans of all backgrounds would bring with it the freedom, peace and healing that follow the Holy Spirit wherever He goes.

But the resistance to repentance is strong in America today.

Burchett is already under attack for his comments by those who look to ban guns instead of addressing the motivation behind the attacks.

So pray. Pray that more members of the American government will have the scales removed from their eyes and see that the way, the only way, to combat this senseless violence is with repentance, humility and the love of Christ sweeping across the nation as never before. {eoa}

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James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.

Indeed, these are the perilous times in which we live. Even when someone is trying to show brotherly love, he is persecuted for it.

But then, it really comes as no surprise that Michael Knowles, host of the Michael Knowles Show of The Daily Wire, had his Twitter account locked for posting a Bible verse commenting on the Trans Radical Activist Network’s ‘Trans Day of Vengeance,’ schedule this Saturday outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

Alongside a promotional graphic for the Day of Vengeance, Knowles posted Scripture from Romans 12:19 that reads, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘Vengeance is Mine. I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

As of 3:18 p.m. Wednesday, Knowles’ Twitter account was still locked. He responded with a post on Instagram that read, “I’ve been suspended from @twitter for quoting the Bible. Specifically, I quote a verse urging people not to take vengeance.”

“This type of censorship seems to be yet another symptom that, despite Elon Musk’s promises to safeguard free speech, censorship campaigns still run rampant on Twitter,” reported.

Ironically, the scheduled event comes just days after a transgender individual opened fire on a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, that left three kids and three adults dead.

Twitter also locked 10 other pro-speech journalists and politicians out of their twitter accounts for reporting on the Trans Day of Vengeance. The Media Research Center, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and The Federalist CEO Sean Davis were among them.

Taylor Greene’s account was restored on Wednesday after her account was locked for seven days after she condemned a post that promoted the leftist event.

“Antifa is organizing a Trans Day of Vengeance. Right after a Trans killed people including children at a Christian elementary school in a mass shooting. Does everyone understand that Antifa is an organized and funded terrorist group that brings violence and terror to every cause?”

In 2022, Taylor Greene tweeted, “Today and every day is 1776. Never give up our freedoms. Never left the left steal them away. Be a watchman on the wall and stay on guard every single second of every single day because the left will stop at nothing until they destroy our faith, our families and our freedoms.” {eoa}

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Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.

As the nation continues to process the horror that unfolded Monday morning at The Covenant School, a Christian elementary academy in Nashville, Tennessee, heartbreaking new details continue to emerge.

Among the unimaginable stories, a pastor’s young daughter was reportedly one of the six victims killed during the mass shooting.

Hallie Scruggs, 9, was the youngest daughter of Chad Scruggs, senior pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church, the house of worship affiliated with the school, and his wife, Jada, The New York Post reported.

Chad Scruggs previously served as pastor of Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas, for nearly six years, and also worked as a campus minister at Reformed University Fellowship at SMU.

Mark Davis, senior pastor of Park Cities, told WFAA-TV the Scruggs family is still close with the church community and that members of Park Cities have flown to Nashville to offer comfort during this time.

“They are so deeply connected to this [church] body,” Davis said. “Even now, members of our church are flying to Nashville to be with them. The impact they had here was enormous.”

The family had recently visited Dallas after Scruggs was invited back to preach. Davis said the Scruggs’ four children always seem to have a deep and profound faith as well as a “radiance.”

“All four of their children had that radiance; we talk about the radiance of Christ, even at a young age,” he told WFAA-TV. “They’re gifted children, they really are. But they’re godly children.”

Davis said he spoke with Scruggs just hours after shooter Audrey Hale, 28, allegedly entered The Covenant School and committed the unthinkable.

In addition to hearing despair in the pastor’s voice, Davis said he also listened to the grieving father’s faith shine through amid the onslaught of inconceivable pain.

“I listened to him lament,” Davis said. “I listened to him also say, we know she’s in the arms of Christ and we know he loves her more than we did.”

For the rest of this article, visit our content partners at .{eoa}

Reprinted with permission from . Copyright © 2022 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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A month prior to resigning as global senior pastor at Hillsong Church, Pastor Brian Houston was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in California, Houston posted on Instagram earlier this week.

Several news reports state that records from the Superior Court of California in Orange County show that Houston was arrested on Feb. 26, 2022. He had been driving with a blood alcohol content of more than .08%. He also failed to display two license plates on the vehicle he was driving.

“In February 2022, and in the lead up to my departure from the role of senior pastor of Hillsong Church, I was unfortunately charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in the USA,” Houston’s Instagram post read. “I made the foolish decision to drive just 2 or 3 hundred metres (yards) to park the car and I am grateful to God no damage or injury occurred.”

Early last year, Houston, 68, stepped down from his position at Hillsong to fight a charge of covering up sex offenses committed by his preacher father, Frank. In August 2021, Brian Houston was charged in Sydney, Australia, with concealing a series of indictable offenses and said in a statement he had already been told to step aside from all Hillsong boards.

“In December during our board meeting, Hillsong’s external legal counsel gave the board advice regarding the current charge I am facing—that it would be the ‘best practice’ for me to step aside completely from church leadership during the court proceedings,” Houston said in the released statement. “We have talked about the effects of the situation with my father, which go back many years up to the current legal case, and the impact this has had on me emotionally.

“The result is that the Hillsong Global Board feels it is in my and the church’s best interest for this to happen, so I have agreed to step aside from all ministry responsibilities until the end of the year. I need to be fully committed to preparation and engagement with the case and work closely with my lawyers in defending this charge.”

While he said he was under a great deal of pressure personally last February, Houston did not excuse his behavior to get behind the wheel while intoxicated.

“At the time, It seemed like all hell had broken loose with Hillsong Church and I was under immense pressure and emotional strain. Clearly, that is not an excuse, and I take full responsibility for my actions.

In Houston’s Instagram post, the former pastor says he has received a great deal of love and support since last March, and that he is ready to move on with his life and ministry.

“Thirteen months have passed since that incident occurred and I am now in a much stronger place within my spirit and my soul. I am grateful for trusted friends who, along with Bobbie (his wife) and our family have offered their constant love and support in a very disruptive season. We are looking forward together to a fruitful season ahead.”

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Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.

Here’s a quick summary of the top stories on :

John Lindell: Modern-Day Pharisees Scoff at Incredible Miracle

In a world that intensely hates God and His Word, it all comes down to this.

Do you believe that God can do what He says he can do? Do you believe the miracles Jesus did in the Bible? Do you believe what it says in John 14:12-14:

“Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes in Me will do the works that I do also. And he will do greater works than these, because I am going to My Father. I will do whatever you ask in My name, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

Max Lucado Shares His Journey with the Holy Spirit and Receiving His Prayer Language

Author and pastor Max Lucado recently shared his journey to understand more about the person of the Holy Spirit. Along the way, he not only grew in his relationship with God, but he also received a gift from the Holy Spirit—his prayer language.

“A significant gift came my way,” Lucado said. “When I was 64 on a July morning, as I was praying, I began praying in tongues.”

In an interview with Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast, Lucado explained how he had earnestly been seeking God for a few weeks, asking if there was anything He wanted to give him.

Are the Nephilim Still Procreating in our World Today?

Have you ever read the passages in the Old Testament that describe God commanding the Israelites to wipe out entire cities of people including men, women and children? You might wonder why God would command for women and innocent children to be wiped out and murdered. Pastor Troy Brewer shared a message at OpenDoor Church about the Nephilim blood line and the war of two seeds.

When God delivered the Jewish people out of Egypt, He had a Promised Land ready and waiting for them. Because of their disobedience, they wandered in the desert for 40 years until the time of conquest came.

Brewer says, “Though they did not go into the Promised Land, they still did not get the luxury of not fighting giants. These are the people who refused to go into the promises of God because they didn’t want to take on cities and giants. So, guess what God had them doing while they were out in the wilderness?” In fact, the Israelites went on to destroy 60 cities. {eoa}

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The Ark of the Covenant Found? ‘This Isn’t Raiders of the Lost Ark’

This isn’t fantasy, and it’s not “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” End times expert Michael Snyder says Israeli officials—among others—know exactly where the Ark of the Covenant is located, and there will come a time soon for that location to be revealed.

And once that location is finally revealed, Snyder says, “the Israeli people will see an immediate need to construct a new temple for it.” And the construction of a third temple will fulfill Bible prophecy, as the Messianic Bible reads “that the Hebrew prophets all proclaimed that in the last days, the exiles of Israel would return to the Promised Land and that the Temple would be rebuilt.”

Ezekiel 37:28 reads, “Then the nations will know that I, the Lord, make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.

SBC Removes Saddleback Church Affiliation over Female Pastor

The executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention removed Saddleback Church from SBC affiliation over the church’s decision to hire a female pastor. Saddleback, which was started by Rick Warren and his wife, Kay, is one of the biggest churches in the convention with plants in California and internationally.

The decision concluded that the church was in violation of a core tenet of the SBC’s values. After Warren retired, Andy Wood and his wife, Stacie, took over with Andy as the lead pastor. However, because of Stacie’s role as a “teaching pastor,” the church was found to be “not in friendly cooperation” with the necessary credentials for the ministry under the Southern Baptist Convention, according to Baptist Press.

Section six of the SBC’s Baptism and Faith Message discusses the role of the church, which reads: “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

How Do Physical Manifestations Fit into Your Theology?

Growing up in charismatic churches you see a lot. Going up to the altar for prayer, you might see people fall to the ground and jerk around or laugh hysterically. Watching and even experiencing some of these things may leave you wondering whether these are from the Holy Spirit or something else entirely.

Jeremiah Johnson posted to Facebook how to discern whether the physical manifestations are from God. He calls it the “Johnathan Edwards Test.” Edwards was a prominent theologian in the 1970s. During the First Great Awakening, people were falling to the ground and manifesting. Edwards often warned of deception saying, “Satan will keep men secure as long as he can. But when he cannot do this he will endeavor to drive men to extremes so to dishonor.”

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To understand the Genesis 12:3 blessing, you first need to understand:

• The covenant that was broken in the Garden
• God’s desire to restore humanity through covenant

In short, you must understand the importance of covenant and what it means that God is a covenant-keeping God.

The Broken Covenant in the Garden

In the beginning, humanity had a covenant with God. It was the first covenant, and sadly, it was broken in the Garden. We know this broken covenant event as “the fall.” This covenant was with Adam and Eve and is often called the Adamic or Edenic covenant, and it was conditional.

The covenant came with many blessings and a warning to Adam not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, for if he did, he would surely die (Gen. 2:16-17). Eating from the Tree of Knowledge brought a curse upon the earth. As we know, Adam and Eve ate from the tree and “surely died.” This broken covenant plagued the earth and mankind with sin. God’s warning held true.

Hosea 6:7 says…

• “But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they have dealt treacherously against Me.” (AMP)

From this broken covenant, we lost our legal rights, handing them over to Satan. That is when he became the prince of this world (2 Cor. 4:4).

God’s Desire to Restore Through Covenant

Adam and Eve broke the covenant, but God had a plan to restore it. He started the restoration process with a man named Abram, who became Abraham. God made this promise, or covenant, to Abraham (Abram) in Genesis 12:3…

• “‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’” (emphasis added)

Understand that this is a covenant statement.

• God made a covenant with Abraham and his seed, the Jewish people.
• Galatians 3:29 says that if you belong to Christ, you are Abraham’s seed, an heir according to the promise.

Your Position with Israel

The covenant statement God made in Genesis 12:3 relates to Israel. How we interact, think about, and pray for Israel is all about alignment. Our view of Israel will either bring a blessing or a curse.

When Yeshua came, His blood removed the middle wall of separation, creating in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace. Yeshua came and made the covenant available to us through the atonement and the redemption of all who call in the name of the Lord, not excluding or replacing the Jews, not excluding or replacing this covenant act.

Since Yeshua Made the Covenant Available to Us … 

Because Yeshua made the covenant available to us, we can now boldly approach the throne of grace, go into the Courts of Heaven and redeem what is ours through Him.

But we must understand this: If we curse Israel, it’s difficult to go into the Courts of Heaven because cursing God’s chosen people positions us as one cursing God’s covenant, making it difficult to ask Him for covenant favor.

In other words, if you’re cursing Israel and going into the Courts of Heaven with a curse on you, you can’t ask for a blessing that comes through that which you are cursing.

The Blessings and Promises Available to Believers Who Stand with Israel

I believe the nine blessings of Passover, according to Exodus 23, describe the promises and blessings for those who stand with Israel.

When you do it God’s way …

• He’ll bless you coming in
• He’ll bless you going out
• He’ll bless you in the city
• He’ll bless you in every way
• No harm shall come near your dwelling

You Can Get into Alignment Today

First, come before God and repent. Recognize if or how you’ve cursed Israel and confess to God. Ask Him to reveal to you the covenant rights and promises He made available to you through Yeshua. Ask Him to remind you of who you are and the family you’ve been grafted into.

Second, declare God’s goodness and our identity. We are still in a broken world, and God is shaping our character to resemble Yeshua more closely each day. He delights when we each come to Him and ask Him to shape us into the person He designed us to be—our true identity. We are acceptable to a holy and perfect God because of Yeshua. So, let us rejoice and declare His goodness, mercy, forgiveness and our identities in Yeshua.

Third, meditate on God’s covenant-keeping nature. Pause and get into your secret place with the Lord and meditate on passages that remind you that He will always uphold His covenant promises because He is a covenant-keeping God.

God is a Covenant-Keeping God

Here are a few verses to help you meditate on His covenant-keeping nature:

• Deuteronomy 7:9

“‘Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments…’”

• Exodus 2:24

“So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.”

• Psalm 111:5

“He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant.”

• Psalm 106:45

“And for their sake He remembered His covenant, and relented according to the multitude of His mercies.”

• Daniel 9:4

“And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, ‘O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments…’”

I encourage you to spend time in Exodus 23:20-33 and write down and decree the blessings God makes available to you. Stand with Israel and claim the promise of Genesis 12:3 in your life.

Curt Landry, founder of Curt Landry Ministries, and his wife, Christie, travel extensively, preaching and teaching about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Together, their passion is to empower families to live and leave Kingdom legacies and understand their own personal heritage.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – The last few days have been some of the most tense and crazy days in the modern history of Israel.

As I noted yesterday, the national crisis is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the Jewish state since its miraculous rebirth in 1948.

Let’s recap for a moment and then talk about where we go from here.

Over the weekend, an estimated 600,000 Israelis—approximately 6.5% of the national population—had poured into the streets over the weekend to protest the current version of the judicial reform legislation barreling its way through the Knesset and set for a final vote before the Passover holiday, which begins on the evening of April 5.

Whether the number is higher or lower, the point is that massive wave of protestors fear the bill would emasculate the power of the Supreme Court from being a proper check and balance on the legislature and could spell the end to Israeli democracy.

In the midst of the unprecedented and rising social and political tensions, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant delivered a speech on live television on Saturday night urging Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu to hit the “pause” button on the legislation.

Gallant argued that it was best to ratchet down tensions as Israelis navigated through Passover, Easter and Ramadan, some of the most sacred holidays on the Jewish, Christian and Islamic calendars.

What’s more, Gallant openly worried that in the face of the threats posed by Iran, the Israeli Defense Forces were being pushed to the brink of combat ineffectiveness because so many combat soldiers, intelligence officers, and air force fighter pilots were threatening not to report to their units if Netanyahu jammed through legislation that they feared would bring an end to Israeli democracy.

But on Sunday, rather than agree with Gallant to hit the “pause button” and allow for a “cooling off period” for the next month or so, Netanyahu fired Gallant for insubordination.

In my view, that was a mistake.

For days, Gallant had been making his appeal to Netanyahu privately, voicing his mounting concerns not so much about the specifics in the legislation but by the way Netanyahu was handling the media and legislative process and letting a firestorm build that had direct and serious national security implications.

But Bibi didn’t appear to be listening—or, if he was listening, he was not acting.

So, Gallant—not a leftist or an opposition member but a long-time friend and trusted ally of Bibi—went public.

By firing him, Netanyahu poured fuel on the fire.

Many Israelis became frightened that Netanyahu was not going to listen to reason and was going to force the legislation through without any changes or amendments.

By Monday, then, the protests escalated dramatically, as we reported here on ALL ISRAEL NEWS.

• Workers at Ben Gurion International airport went on strike, forcing the airport to shut down to all incoming and outgoing air traffic.

• Workers at Israel’s commercial ports went on strike, shutting down all export and import trade.

• All Israeli public schools closed to protest Netanyahu’s move.

• All Israeli universities closed, as well.

• Banks shut down.

• All McDonald’s restaurants shut down in solidarity with the protestors.

• Major highways were blocked by protestors.

• Upwards of 100,000 protestors surrounded the Knesset building.

• Israeli President Isaac Herzog continued urging Netanyahu to slow down the process and enter talks with opposition leaders to find a way out of the crisis.

• So did at least five members of Netanyahu’s Likud party.

• So did Natan Sharansky, the former

• So did Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.

• So did former Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

• So did U.S. President Joe Biden.

• So did the conservative Israeli think tank that originally developed the judicial reform plan.

• Even Netanyahu’s personal lawyer advising him during his corruption trial threatened to quit unless the prime minister agreed to pause the judicial reform bill and discuss a compromise.

Yet Netanyahu continued to resist.

As the situation continued to escalate on Monday, Netanyahu’s team notified the press that he would make a public statement at 10:30am.

But he didn’t.

The statement kept being postponed hour after hour as Netanyahu met with his coalition partners.

The Religious Zionism party—led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Givr—threatened to bolt the coalition and bring down the government if Netanyahu slowed down or stopped the legislation from being passed before Passover.

But by late Monday, Netanyahu decided that he had had enough.

He informed his coalition partners that for the good of the country, he had to hit the pause button and open up real talks with the opposition.

The Religious Zionism party—for the moment, anyway—backed down.

Then Netanyahu on live national television to address the nation, explain the decision he had made and his willingness to enter into talks, and vowed that he would not lead the country into a “civil war,” which many—including President Herzog—fear is coming.

This was the right move.

Netanyahu is to be commended for listening to the will of the Israeli people, calling the bluff of the Religious Zionism leadership and demonstrating true leadership.

He should have done this sooner.

By waiting so long, he has lost a great deal of trust, even among many center-right Israelis who want a balanced version of judicial reform to pass.

Still, Netanyahu acted before it was too late—and I am grateful.

I’m also impressed with and grateful to President Herzog and former Defense Minister Gallant.

The both deserve real credit for selflessly urging the prime minister to open real talks, seek compromise, and dial down the flames.

We are a long way from seeing this conflict resolved.

The protests are continuing.

And Netanyahu’s allies on Tuesday actually “tabled” the current version of the legislation, a technical term for getting it ready for final passage.

Opposition members are saying that shows Netanyahu isn’t serious about forging a compromise.

Let’s pray that’s not the case.

I believe judicial reforms are vitally important, as I’ve argued repeatedly on ALL ISRAEL NEWS and THE ROSENBERG REPORT.

Most of the current package I can accept.

But I’m totally opposed to the “override clause” that only requires 61 Knesset members out of 120 to overturn a Supreme Court decision.

That’s a terrible mistake.

It would completely emasculate the High Court, remove a critical check and balance, and severely damage—and possibly destroy—Israel’s democracy.

What Israel’s needs is a supermajority of 90 out of 120 Knesset members to vote in favor or overriding an unfair or unjust Supreme Court decision.

That would mean an override would necessitate broad national consensus, not a simple majority.

Personally, I could probably live with an 80 seat requirement instead of 61.

But 61 is terrible and would put the human rights and civil rights of Israel’s minorities in grave jeopardy.

So, I ask you to join me in praying that the prime minister and the rest of the Israeli government and parliament come together and do the right thing.

Soon, before the forest fires goes out of control. {eoa}

This article originally appeared on ALL ISRAEL NEWS and is reposted with permission.

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Joel C. Rosenberg is the editor-in-chief of ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS and the President and CEO of Near East Media. A New York Times best-selling author, Middle East analyst and Evangelical leader, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and sons.

Christians, it’s time to take note: the warnings of coming persecution are ramping up as time goes on.

The latest Christian to warn about the coming persecution to Western nations is Bob Fu, a Christian who left China after persecution against Christians there worsened in the 1990s. Fu, who came to Christ through the underground church, is the president of ChinaAid, which serves to help with religious freedom needs. Today, Fu sees the same government overreach happening in America as he experienced in China.

“The similarities are very, very striking between the Chinese Communist way of persecution and the American leftist way of restriction and even discrimination,” he told Fox News.

Fu also shared with Fox News that the ways the government forced churches to shut down during the pandemic mirrored the language used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“I saw the governor of California basically proscribe and order the church to shut down and say not only when they can worship, but how. The ways that he threatened to punish those churches and pastors sometimes were word-for-word exactly the same as what the CCP is using against Chinese churches,” Fu said.

However, Fu is not the only one taking notice of Christian persecution that appears to be on its way to America.

In a recent interview on the Strang Report, Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City shared how he believes understanding persecution from a biblical standpoint is imperative for younger generations today.

“I believe persecution is coming to the West, and it’s a very important subject for us to find out what the biblical narrative is,” Bickle said. “What does the Bible say about persecution, particularly in the generation that the Lord returns?”

While Bickle says that we cannot know if we are in the final generation or not, he believes it is very plausible that the end could be coming soon, especially for younger generations who are not accustomed to suffering. He also acknowledges that persecution is not widely discussed in Western churches, but that Jesus’ words on this topic will indeed come to pass—whether we’re ready for it or not.

“In Matthew 24:9, he said ‘Then, all nations will hate you.’ I never really have focused on that word at all. If you read Matthew 24 verses five, six, seven and eight, Jesus called it the beginning of birth pangs and then, ‘all nations will hate you.’ That time frame hasn’t happened yet. That’s the future, and America is in that is coming a time where all people that are true to the words of Jesus, really loyal to what He said, will suffer,” Bickle said.

Whether it’s the refusal of joining in an LGTBQ training for work, or simply for being a faithful member of Christ’s body, there’s no hiding from the fact that persecution is part of the future. Jesus told us that there would be troubles in this world, but that He had overcome it (John 16:33). The disciples and the early church knew that no matter what happened to them in this world, Jesus had already overcome sin and the grave. That’s why they were able to cling tight to Him and His Word despite being persecuted unto death and exile.

The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us.” A man who was imprisoned, chained and despised by the Roman government had found such complete redemption in Christ that he knew his prize and home were in heaven. There was nothing on this earth that could even compare to what was to come. Time will only tell now if today’s church will follow this lead and seek heaven or fall for the things of this world. {eoa}

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Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator and Staff Writer intern for Charisma Media.