The Man in the High Castle: Official Trailer – What If?

Church stands by US jet row pastor Creflo Dollar's Scotland visit

 
 Creflo Dollar.



A TV preacher who urged his American flock to help him buy a $65 million private jet is ploughing on with a summer visit to Scotland - despite a growing clamour for the trip to be cancelled. 

Televangelist Creflo Dollar is due to appear in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow this June as part of a whistle-stop tour of the country organised by the “contemporary apostolic movement” Destiny Evangelical Church. 

The US pastor has previously come under fire for his lavish lifestyle amid reports he owns Rolls-Royces, a private jet and real estate worth millions. 

But his Scottish engagements have attracted a hail of criticism from one church leader who has urged the Destiny Church to “withdraw its invitation”.

The Free Kirk’s Moderator Rev David Robertson has sent a personal letter to Destiny Church as his looked to escalate his opposition to the events.

Dundee-based Mr Robertson said: “To Destiny and others who have invited Dollar, in the name of God and for the sake of Christ, withdraw your invitation.


“If you really care about the Gospel in Scotland take courage and turn away from this false teaching.

 

One of 6 Campuses of  Destiny Church, Glasgow

More on this story from the Glasgow Herald Newspaper

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Words for The Wise, Romans 8 (The Voice) For I'm persuaded

Romans 8 The Voice (VOICE)

8 Therefore, now no condemnation awaits those who are living in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, 2 because when you live in the Anointed One, Jesus, a new law takes effect. The law of the Spirit of life breathes into you and liberates you from the law of sin and death. 3 God did something the law could never do. You see, human flesh took its toll on God’s law. In and of itself, the law is not weak; but the flesh weakens it. So to condemn the sin that was ruling in the flesh, God sent His own Son, bearing the likeness of sinful flesh, as a sin offering. 4 Now we are able to live up to the justice demanded by the law. But that ability has not come from living by our fallen human nature; it has come because we walk according to the movement of the Spirit in our lives.

5 If you live your life animated by the flesh—namely, your fallen, corrupt nature—then your mind is focused on the matters of the flesh. But if you live your life animated by the Spirit—namely, God’s indwelling presence—then your focus is on the work of the Spirit. 6 A mind focused on the flesh is doomed to death, but a mind focused on the Spirit will find full life and complete peace. 7 You see, a mind focused on the flesh is declaring war against God; it defies the authority of God’s law and is incapable of following His path. 8 So it is clear that God takes no pleasure in those who live oriented to the flesh.

The power of sin and death has been eclipsed by the power of the Spirit. The Spirit breathes life into our mortal, sin-infested bodies—thanks to what Jesus has done for us. By sending His Son in “the likeness of sinful flesh,” God judges sin finally and completely. The sins of the world are concentrated and condemned in the flesh of Jesus as He hangs on the cross. So now there is no condemnation remaining for those who’ve entered into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

9 But you do not live in the flesh. You live in the Spirit, assuming, of course, that the Spirit of God lives inside of you. The truth is that anyone who does not have the Spirit of the Anointed living within does not belong to God. 10 If the Anointed One lives within you, even though the body is as good as dead because of the effects of sin, the Spirit is infusing you with life now that you are right with God. 11 If the Spirit of the One who resurrected Jesus from the dead lives inside of you, then you can be sure that He who raised Him will cast the light of life into your mortal bodies through the life-giving power of the Spirit residing in you.

As Paul ponders the story of redemption, he finds in the family unit a beautiful image of what salvation means. Those who enter into God’s salvation are adopted into God’s family. Before we receive the gift of God’s grace, we are homeless orphans searching for some place to belong. But now all that has changed. The Father reaches out through His Son to all those orphaned by sin and death, and He brings them into His family. We are adopted into His forever family and fully enfranchised as His heirs.

12 So, my brothers and sisters, you owe the flesh nothing! You do not need to live according to its ways, so abandon its oppressive regime. 13 For if your life is just about satisfying the impulses of your sinful nature, then prepare to die. But if you have invited the Spirit to destroy these selfish desires, you will experience life. 14 If the Spirit of God is leading you, then take comfort in knowing you are His children. 15 You see, you have not received a spirit that returns you to slavery, so you have nothing to fear. The Spirit you have received adopts you and welcomes you into God’s own family. That’s why we call out to Him, “Abba! Father!” as we would address a loving daddy. 16 Through that prayer, God’s Spirit confirms in our spirits that we are His children. 17 If we are God’s children, that means we are His heirs along with the Anointed, set to inherit everything that is His. If we share His sufferings, we know that we will ultimately share in His glory.

18 Now I’m sure of this: the sufferings we endure now are not even worth comparing to the glory that is coming and will be revealed in us. 19 For all of creation is waiting, yearning for the time when the children of God will be revealed. 20 You see, all of creation has collapsed into emptiness, not by its own choosing, but by God’s. Still He placed within it a deep and abiding hope 21 that creation would one day be liberated from its slavery to corruption and experience the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 For we know that all creation groans in unison with birthing pains up until now. 23 And there is more; it’s not just creation—all of us are groaning together too. Though we have already tasted the first fruits of the Spirit, we are longing for the total redemption of our bodies that comes when our adoption as children of God is complete— 24 for we have been saved in this hope and for this future. But hope does not involve what we already have or see. For who goes around hoping for what he already has? 25 But if we wait expectantly for things we have never seen, then we hope with true perseverance and eager anticipation.

26 A similar thing happens when we pray. We are weak and do not know how to pray, so the Spirit steps in and articulates prayers for us with groaning too profound for words. 27 Don’t you know that He who pursues and explores the human heart intimately knows the Spirit’s mind because He pleads to God for His saints to align their lives with the will of God? 28 We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan. 29-30 From the distant past, His eternal love reached into the future. You see, He knew those who would be His one day, and He chose them beforehand to be conformed to the image of His Son so that Jesus would be the firstborn of a new family of believers, all brothers and sisters. As for those He chose beforehand, He called them to a different destiny so that they would experience what it means to be made right with God and share in His glory.

31 So what should we say about all of this? If God is on our side, then tell me: whom should we fear? 32 If He did not spare His own Son, but handed Him over on our account, then don’t you think that He will graciously give us all things with Him? 33 Can anyone be so bold as to level a charge against God’s chosen? Especially since God’s “not guilty” verdict is already declared. 34 Who has the authority to condemn? Jesus the Anointed who died, but more importantly, conquered death when He was raised to sit at the right hand of God where He pleads on our behalf. 35 So who can separate us? What can come between us and the love of God’s Anointed? Can troubles, hardships, persecution, hunger, poverty, danger, or even death? The answer is, absolutely nothing. 36 As the psalm says,

On Your behalf, our lives are endangered constantly;

    we are like sheep awaiting slaughter.[a] 37 But no matter what comes, we will always taste victory through Him who loved us. 38 For I have every confidence that nothing—not death, life, heavenly messengers, dark spirits, the present, the future, spiritual powers, 39 height, depth, nor any created thing—can come between us and the love of God revealed in the Anointed, Jesus our Lord.

NIV Application Commentary

Romans 8:38-39

Paul concludes his celebration of God’s love for us in Christ with his own personal testimony: “I am persuaded.…” The list following is arranged in four pairs, with “powers” thrown in between the third and fourth pair. We can easily “over interpret” such a list, insisting on a precision of definitions that misses the point of Paul’s rhetoric. In general, however, “death” and “life” refer to the two basic states of human existence. “Angels” and “demons” (archai, i.e., “rulers,” which Paul uses to denote evil spiritual beings [see Eph. 6:12; Col. 2:15]) summarize the entirety of the spiritual world.

A few interpreters take “present things” and “coming things” (lit. trans.) as spiritual beings too, but evidence is lacking for these as such titles. Probably Paul chooses to summarize all of history, along with the people and events it contains, in a temporal perspective. It is not clear why Paul disrupts his neat parallelism with the word “powers” at this point, but the word refers again to spiritual beings (1 Cor. 15:24; Eph. 1:21).

“Height” and “depth” are the most difficult of the pairs of terms to identify. Since these words were applied to the space above and below the horizon, and since ancient people often invested celestial phenomena with spiritual significance, Paul may be referring to spiritual beings again. Yet Paul uses similar language in Ephesians 3:18 in a simple spatial sense. Thus, perhaps, he chooses yet another way of trying to help us understand that there is nothing in all the world—whether we are dead or alive, whether they are things we now face or things we will face in the future, whether they are above us or below us—that can separate us from the “love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As the chapter began with “no condemnation” (Rom. 8:1), so it ends with the bookends of “no separation” (8:35, 39).

Dictionary of Bible Themes

5110 Paul, teaching of

Paul’s understanding of the Christian life was dominated by the importance of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, by means of which he saw God as having acted decisively to redeem the world. Paul emphasised that Jews and Gentiles alike are justified by faith, and share together in the glorious new era of the Holy Spirit, which is to be consummated at Christ’s return.

The redeeming work of Jesus Christ

God’s work of redemption in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection Ro 3:25 See also Ro 8:3-4; 2Co 5:18-19; Col 1:21-22

Jesus Christ as substitute, exchanges places with the sinner 2Co 5:21 See also Gal 3:13-14; Gal 4:4-5

Jesus Christ reverses the effects of Adam’s sin 1Co 15:21-22 See also Ro 5:12-19

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ mark the beginning of God’s new order

New life comes through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ Gal 2:20 See also 2Co 5:16-17; Eph 2:4-7; Col 2:13

Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection are the basis for a new moral life Ro 6:11-13 See also Ro 6:1-7; 2Co 5:15; Col 2:20-3:11

Those who participate in God’s new order are “in Christ” 1Co 1:30 See also Ro 8:1-2; Eph 1:3-14 Paul extends the scope of the phrase “in Christ” to include believers, their activity, and the salvation they have received.

Both Jews and Gentiles are justified by faith

Paul stresses that salvation is by grace through faith alone Eph 2:8-9 See also Ro 3:21-26; Ro 4:16; Ro 5:1-2

Jewish works of the law have no role in salvation Gal 2:15-16 See also Ro 4:13-15; Ro 9:30-10:4; Gal 3:6-14; Php 3:8-9

Both Jews and Gentiles are united in the one body of Christ 1Co 12:13 See also Gal 3:26-28; Eph 2:14-18; Eph 3:6

The Holy Spirit

His indwelling is an integral part of Christian experience Ro 8:9 See also Ac 19:1-7; Gal 3:2-5 Paul’s questions suggest that he identifies receiving the Spirit with becoming a Christian.

He equips the church with gifts 1Co 12:1-11 See also 1Co 14:1-33

He enables believers to relate to God as Father Gal 4:6-7 See also Ro 8:14-17; Eph 2:18

He guides believers into a right understanding of the law Ro 7:6 See also Ro 2:29; Ro 8:3-4; 2Co 3:3,6

He overcomes believers’sinful human nature Ro 8:13 See also Ro 8:5-8; Gal 5:16-25; Gal 6:8

He is the guarantee of eternal life Ro 8:11 See also Ro 8:23; 2Co 5:4-5; Eph 1:13-14

The return of Jesus Christ

Paul lived in the hope of the forthcoming personal return of the risen Christ Php 3:20-21 See also 1Co 15:22-28; 1Th 4:14-17; 2Th 1:6-10

Believers are to be raised with Christ upon his return 1Th 4:14 See also 1Co 15:12-23

The whole created order will be renewed at the return of Jesus Christ Ro 8:19-21 See also Eph 1:9-10

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China use's it's Fisherman to expand it's terrorital claims to the South China Sea

 

 TANMEN, China — In the disputed waters of the South China Sea, fishermen are the wild card.

China is using its vast fishing fleet as the advance guard to press its expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea, experts say. That is not only putting Beijing on a collision course with its Asian neighbors, but also introducing a degree of unpredictability that raises the risks of periodic crises.

In the past few weeks, tensions have flared with Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam as Chinese fishermen, often backed up by coast guard vessels, have ventured far from their homeland and close to other nations’ coasts. They are just the latest conflicts in China’s long-running battle to expand its fishing grounds and simultaneously exert its maritime dominance.

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