Tag Archive | Politics and Religion

Breaking News: Boston Bombing Suspects Had First Planned Attack for July Fourth – prhayz@gmail.com – Gmail


BREAKING NEWS Thursday, May 2, 2013 7:08 PM EDTBoston Bombing Suspects Had First Planned Attack for July FourthWASHINGTON − The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings told F.B.I. interrogators that, as he and his brother plotted their deadly assault, they considered suicide attacks and striking on the Fourth of July, according to a law enforcement official.But the suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, told investigators that he and his brother, Tamerlan, 26, who was killed in a shootout with the police, ultimately decided to use pressure-cooker bombs and other homemade explosive devices, the official said.The brothers finished building the bombs in Tamerlan’s apartment in Cambridge, Mass., faster than they anticipated and so decided to accelerate their attack to the Boston Marathon on April 15, Patriots Day in Massachusetts, from July, according to the account that Dzhokhar provided authorities. They picked the finish line of the marathon after driving around the Boston area looking for alternative sites, according to this account.In addition, Mr. Dzhokhar told authorities that he and his brother viewed the Internet sermons of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical American cleric who moved to Yemen and was killed in September 2011 by an American drone strike. There is no indication that the brothers communicated with Mr. Awakli before his death.READ MORE »http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/us/Boston-bombing-suspects-planned-july-fourth-attack.html?emc=na

via Breaking News: Boston Bombing Suspects Had First Planned Attack for July Fourth – prhayz@gmail.com – Gmail.

He is not here, He is risen, just as He said


Scripture Reference:  Matthew 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-20; Luke 24:1-49; John 20:1-21:25.

After the Romans had crucified Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea had Christ‘s body placed in his own tomb. A large stone covered the entrance and soldiers guarded the sealed tomb. On the third day, a Sunday, some women (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna and Salome are all mentioned in the gospel accounts) went to the tomb at dawn to anoint the body of Jesus.

bth_easter-empty-tomb[1]

A powerful earthquake took place as an angel from heaven rolled the stone back. The guards shook in fear as the angel, dressed in bright white, sat upon the stone. The angel announced to the women that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, “He has risen, just as he said.” Then he instructed the women to check the tomb and see for themselves. Next he told them to go tell the disciples. 

With a mixture of fear and joy they ran to obey the angel’s command, but suddenly Jesus met them on their way. They fell at his feet and worshiped him. Jesus then said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see me.”

When the guards reported what had happened to the chief priests, they bribed the soldiers with a large sum of money, telling them to lie and say that the disciples had stolen the body in the night.

After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to the women near the tomb and afterwards at least twice to the disciples while they had gathered at a house in prayer. He visited two of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and he also appeared at the Sea of Galilee while some of the disciples were fishing.

One small word


Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1).

Throughout the Bible, there are small words that make powerful impacts upon our lives. Consider the word “Let”. To “let” means that we have a responsibility in a given matter. It means that we must give permission or allow the opportunity for God to do something in our lives, or through our lives, that He desires to see happen.

When God says, “Let,” He is telling us that there is no reluctance on His part to see something happen. Therefore, it is up to us to humble ourselves before Him and respond to His command appropriately.

Here are some of the “Lets” we find in the Bible:

  • Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7).
  • Dear children let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth (1 John 3:18).
  • Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:19).
  • Yet if, anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter (1 Peter 4:16).
  • If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind (James 1:5-6).

Should political principles take precidence over moral principles?


10house3_span-articleLarge[1]No rational human being, religious or secular, can deny with any degree of credibility that there are much differences between political principles and moral principles. Therefore, moral principles should take precedence over political principles, especially when the expected outcome impacts the greater good of the society at large.  However, politicians in Washington are best known for putting their political principles before their moral obligations, especially when fulfilling their moral obligations do not translate to many votes at the polls. And it matters not to these elected servants whether the country is at a critical juncture where many of its citizens are struggling to find work and provide food for their families.

Anyone on the outside looking in would think putting people back to work is our number-one priority. Instead, these self-centered rich intractable are more interested in scoring points than moving their country forward. They have manufactured crisis after crisis, and then they use scripted rhetoric to deceive the American people into believing that they have their best interest at heart. It seems everything in Washington is a chess game. Nobody wants to give a little and take a little. It is either all or nothing.

Let’s take the ongoing budget debacle, for example. What a mess this fiasco has turned out to be. There are no signs of compromise on the horizon, even though polls after polls have indicated that a majority of the American people want both sides to reach an agreement that will help move this struggling the country forward.

Still, the thing that disturbs me the most about Washington is the claim of being Christian by many of its heartless politicians. These men and women are so consumed by their political ideology that they rather ignore the teachings of Jesus Christ than compromise. Frankly, I am not sure about these people. The Holy Bible tells me that as, Christians, we must “Let our light shine before men who may see our good works, and glorify the Father who is in heaven. However, all I hear from these so-called Christians in Washington are gloom and doom.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,650 other followers