DESPITE DEATH THREATS, THIS PASTOR REFUSES TO COMPROMISE

by Open Doors

Though his heart was beating wildly, he stood toe-to-toe with his accuser, refusing to show even the slightest bit of fear. (Courtesy/Open Doors)

Despite constant threats on his life, Pastor Amin won't back down. As a result, his church is growing.

Though his heart was beating wildly, he stood toe-to-toe with his accuser, refusing to show even the slightest bit of fear.

In a threatening tone that was almost a growl, the Islamic extremist hissed, "I am a faithful Muslim ... so I have to participate in jihad." To Pastor Amin, the implication was clear: These could be his last moments on Earth.

If they were, so be it.

"Kill me if you must. Here I am!" the Central Asian pastor said defiantly. His two would-be assailants were dumbfounded. Never had they seen such courage and calmness in the face of almost certain death. It was almost as if God had put a shield around the pastor they knew they couldn't penetrate.

What they didn't know is that Pastor Amin will never run and hide, no matter what threats are made against him.

"My place is here, preaching the gospel to Muslims," he says without hesitation. "If you love Christ, you follow Him and do His will. If you love and follow Christ, you will not be afraid."

Word of Pastor Amin's boldness has spread throughout the region. He has organized youth evangelistic trips, where they preached the gospel to Muslims and distributed Bibles and other Christian literature. As a result, he now has a huge church that consists mostly of former Muslims. He founded a rehab center for drug addicts and alcoholics. And he has operated missionary schools and summer camps for Muslim children.

Yet he still receives death threats regularly, a fact that makes him sad but has not changed his determination to see Muslims come to Christ.

"I will never hide!" he says boldly. And after what he's been through, most people who know him believe he won't back down—ever. Not as long as there are Muslims in his country who need to hear the truth about Christ and His love for them.

One of the reasons Pastor Amin has been so successful in growing his church is that through your gifts, [Open Doors has] provided him with Bibles, Christian literature, encouragement and when necessary, a safe place for his family.

Today, he asks not to be removed from danger, but to be strengthened so he can continue to spread the gospel among those who don't know the truth. 

MORE THAN 190 ACTORS REJECT HOLLYWOOD, SIGN LETTER TO SUPPORT ISRAEL

by FocusNews

Hollywood has deservedly been labeled the epicenter of the “left coast.” It is a city full of misguided liberal actors who are too detached from mainstream Americans and traditional values.

Recently, conservative actor Jon Voight took a few pro-Hamas actors to task for their shameful comments about Israel’s efforts to defend their democracy from terrorism. And now, what began with a relatively small number of Hollywood celebrities voicing support for Israel has become almost 200 celebrity names signing on to a pro-Israel, anti-Hamas petition. Even superstars like Sylvester Stallone and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger have signed on… which should be yet another reason to watch Expendables 3 this weekend!

In addition, some actors you wouldn’t expect to be on the correct side of this issue surprised us – A-Listers, such as Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman, and Mayim Bialik also signed on to oppose Hamas. Great news!

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, ARE SADDENED BY THE DEVASTATING LOSS OF LIFE ENDURED BY ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS IN GAZA. WE ARE PAINED BY THE SUFFERING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE CONFLICT AND HOPE FOR A SOLUTION THAT BRINGS PEACE TO THE REGION.

WHILE WE STAND FIRM IN OUR COMMITMENT TO PEACE AND JUSTICE, WE MUST ALSO STAND FIRM AGAINST IDEOLOGIES OF HATRED AND GENOCIDE WHICH ARE REFLECTED IN HAMAS’ CHARTER, ARTICLE 7 OF WHICH READS, “THERE IS A JEW HIDING BEHIND ME, COME ON AND KILL HIM!” THE SON OF A HAMAS FOUNDER HAS ALSO COMMENTED ABOUT THE TRUE NATURE OF HAMAS.

HAMAS CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO RAIN ROCKETS ON ISRAELI CITIES, NOR CAN IT BE ALLOWED TO HOLD ITS OWN PEOPLE HOSTAGE. HOSPITALS ARE FOR HEALING, NOT FOR HIDING WEAPONS. SCHOOLS ARE FOR LEARNING, NOT FOR LAUNCHING MISSILES. CHILDREN ARE OUR HOPE, NOT OUR HUMAN SHIELDS.

WE JOIN TOGETHER IN SUPPORT OF THE DEMOCRATIC VALUES WE ALL CHERISH AND IN THE HOPE THAT THE HEALING AND TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF THE ARTS CAN BE USED TO BUILD BRIDGES OF PEACE.

And here is the full list of signers:

MICHAEL ADLER
AVI ARAD
TOM ARNOLD
JEFF ASTROF
CRAIG BALSAM
GARY BARBER
ROSEANNE BARR
ELANA BARRY
JONATHAN BARUCH
AARON BAY-SCHUCK
LAINIE SORKIN BECKY
STEVEN BENSUSAN
ADAM BERKOWITZ
GREG BERLANTI
JORDAN BERLIANT
MAYIM BIALIK
JOSHUA P BINDER
TODD BLACK
MICHAEL BORKOW
SCOOTER BRAUN
DAN BRECHER
ERIC BROOKS
DAN BUCATINSKY
DAVID BYRNES
OMRI CASSPI
JOSH CHARLES
ETAN COHEN
JOE COHEN
MARC DAUER
CRAIG DAVID
DONALD DE LINE
MATT DELPIANO
JOSH DEUTSCH
MINNIE DRIVER
JACK DYTMAN
LEE EISENBERG
DOUG ELLIN
DIANE ENGLISH
DAN ERLIJ
RON FAIR
DAVE FELDMAN
JAMES FELDMAN
PATTI FELKER
SAM FISCHER
ERICA FORSTER
GARY FOSTER
DOUG FRANK
BRYAN J. FREEDMAN
GEORDIE E. FREY
WILLIAM FRIEDKIN
DARYL FRIEDMAN
MICHAEL FRICKLAS
JEREMY GARELICK
RAN GEFFEN-LIFSHITZ
ANDREW GENGER
JODY GERSON
RISA GERTNER
JAMI GERTZ
GARY GINSBERG
DAVID GLICK
JONATHAN GLICKMAN
EVAN GOLDBERG
GIL GOLDSCHEIN
TONY GOLDWYN
NATE GOODMAN
MARC GRABOFF
KELSEY GRAMMER
TRUDY GREEN
ADAM GRIFFIN
IRIS GROSSMAN
PHIL HACKER
SANAA HAMRI
ADI HASAK
NED HASPEL
ANDREW HURWITZ
KATHY IRELAND
BILL JACOBSON
NEIL JACOBSON
JONATHAN JAKUBOWICZ NATHAN KAHANE
ADAM KALLER
ZACH KATZ
RYAN KAVANAUGH
RON KENAN
LARRY KENNAR
KEVIN KING-TEMPLETON
MICHAEL KIVES
COURTNEY KIVOWITZ
PATRICK KNAPP
AMANDA KOGAN
STEVEN KRAM
ERIK KRITZER
PETER LANDESMAN
ERIQ LA SALLE
SHERRY LANSING
ESTELLE LASHER
MICHAEL LASKER
KEILI LEFKOVITZ
CAROL LEIFER
AVI LERNER
COLIN LESTER

AFTER SPEAKING OUT AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY, GOSPEL SINGER KICKED OFF 'ELLEN' SHOW

by CBN NEWS

Kim Burrell (Facebook)

Ellen DeGeneres says gospel singer Kim Burrell is not going to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show as scheduled.

"For those asking, Kim Burrell will not be appearing on my show," tweeted Ellen, one of the most prominent lesbians in Hollywood.

The talk show host issued that statement after Burrell refused to apologize for her sermon on homosexuality.

The gospel singer was scheduled to perform a song for the film Hidden Figures alongside Pharrell Williams on the show this Thursday.

A tape of Burrell preaching at the Love & Liberty Fellowship Church was circulated online.

In her message, Burrell said, "The perverted homosexual spirit, and the spirit of delusion and confusion, it has deceived many men and women."

It wasn't clear when Burrell gave the sermon, but in a Facebook Live video on Friday, Burrell referred to unspecified "enemies" for spreading only a portion of her speech.

She said she has never discriminated against gays and lesbians. "I love you, and God loves you," she said. "But God hates the sin."

The Ellen DeGeneres Show has issued no further statement.

FOUR THINGS YOU WON'T HEAR ABOUT RUSSIAN HACKING FROM LIBERAL MAINSTREAM MEDIA

by BOB ESCHLIMAN

New evidence and reports not found in the liberal mainstream media are poking big holes in the story that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed hacking activity meant to disrupt the 2016 U.S. election. (Reuters photo)

President-elect Donald Trump's spokesman, Sean Spicer, said during Tuesday's transition daily briefing that once the final report was completed, the president-elect would receive a briefing from senior leadership of the intelligence community regarding allegations that the Russia government directed hacking efforts that affected the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

Here are four items you aren't going to see anytime soon in the liberal mainstream media about those "Russian hacking" allegations:

Assange: Obama is Trying to Delegitimize Trump

WikiLeaks, which is at the center of the controversy, published much of the hacked information. Its co-founder, Julian Assange, has said repeatedly the Russian government had nothing to do with the hacking and wasn't the source of the emails and other documents obtained by WikiLeaks.

In an interview that will air Tuesday night on FOX News Channel's Hannity, Assange will charge that President Barack Obama is trying to delegitimize the incoming administration for political gain:

"They're trying to delegitimize the Trump administration as it goes into the White House," he said in the previously recorded interview. "They are trying to say that President-elect Trump is not a legitimate president.

"Our publications had wide uptake by the American people. They're all true. But that's not the allegation that's being presented by the Obama White House."

Conservative 'Expert' Goes Dark

John Schindler, a conservative professor at Naval War College who has frequently appeared in liberal mainstream media as an "expert" on global security and the NSA, was suddenly deleted all of his social media accounts. This after Gawker published inappropriate text messages he had sent to a woman who was not his wife.

The authenticity of the text messages has been confirmed by the recipient, who said she was a willing participant in a "virtual relationship." Associated Press is reporting that Schindler, who has been a right-of-center foil used by the liberal media to continue its "Russia hacked the election" narrative, has been placed on leave by Naval War College.

The Tale of Two Statements

Oct. 7, Director of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper issued the following statement that hacking activity appeared to be "consistent" with past Russian government-directed hacking:

The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of emails from US persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked emails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the U.S. election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow—the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.

Then, on the eve of the Electoral College's vote, the Office of Director of National Intelligence changed the context of the original quote and insisted it stood by that quote—which it changed:

Recently, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has received requests from Members of Congress, several Electors of the Electoral College and the general public for additional information on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

On Oct. 7, 2016, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence publicly stated that they were "confident" that the Russian government directed compromises of emails from U.S. persons and institutions and that these thefts, as well as disclosures of alleged hacked emails by the Guccifer 2.0 persona were intended to interfere with the U.S. election process. The Secretary and DNI also expressed their belief that "only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities." We continue to stand by this statement.

ODNI has not responded to media requests asking to clarify why the context of the Oct. 7 quote was then changed to align with the liberal mainstream media narrative in December. While the changes are subtle, the semantic changes are enormous in the two statements.

About That Intelligence Analysis

The cybersecurity website Wordfence is punching some rather big holes in the U.S. government's preliminary report. Here's what it had to say, specifically, to the question of whether or not the report "proves" the Russian government "hacked the election":

No, it does not. What Wordfence revealed on Friday is that the PHP malware sample the U.S. government provided is:

An old version of malware. The sample was version 3.1.0, and the current version is 3.1.7 with 4.1.1 beta also available.
Freely available to anyone who wants it.
The authors claim they are Ukrainian, not Russian.
The malware is an administrative tool used by hackers to upload files, view files on a hacked website, download database contents and so on. It is used as one step in a series of steps that would occur during an attack.

Wordfence also analyzed the IP addresses available and demonstrated that they are in 61 countries, belong to over 380 organizations, and many of those organizations are well-known website hosting providers from where many attacks originate. There is nothing in the IP data that points to Russia specifically.

Through an independent analysis of the U.S. government's data, Wordfence concluded that there is no evidence whatsoever of a government-sponsored hacking event. That the hackers may have come from Russia, they added, doesn't constitute state-sponsored activity.

Ultimately, these four different aspects of the story—none of which are likely to see the light of day in the mainstream media—destroy the liberal narrative that the Russian government sought to influence the outcome of the election. What we need to do now is pray that President-elect Donald Trump maintains his resolve in the face of growing media pressure.