my

Court orders final forfeiture of retired Army general’s N427 million

The general earned a salary of N750,000 before retirement.

The post Court orders final forfeiture of retired Army general’s N427 million appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.




my

Army kills second ‘most wanted’ criminal kingpin in Benue

BY EMEKA EJERE Soldiers deployed in Benue have recorded a great feat by killing a suspected notorious criminal, Terugwa Igbagwa, during a raid operation in the state. The Coordinator of Defence Media Operations at the Defence Headquarters, Major General John Enenche, disclosed this in a statement on Friday. According to him, Igbagwa whose alias is […]

The post Army kills second ‘most wanted’ criminal kingpin in Benue appeared first on Hallmarknews.



  • Headlines
  • Army kills second ‘most wanted’ criminal kingpin in Benue

my

LHC Group, Inc. (LHCG) CEO Keith Myers on Q1 2020 Results - Earnings Call Transcript




my

How Covid-19 is de-mystifying online learning

In an interview with Natasa Meli, SACAP’s Head of Online Campus, she discusses how resistance to online learning has changed.





my

Donald Tusk: "What the Economy Needs Is a Blitzkrieg"

Donald Tusk, the head of the European People's Party and the former president of the European Council, says the coronavirus crisis could spell the end for the EU. He urges Germany to show more solidarity with weaker countries and hopes to prevent Hungary from becoming a dictatorship.




my

Future of Our Global Economy: The Beginning of De-Globalization

The corona crisis is changing the global economy. Production security is growing more important than efficiency. Here is what that might look like.




my

POSCO Daewoo Opens 5-star Hotel in Myanmar's Yangon

POSCO Daewoo has opened Lotte Hotel Yangon on September 8 in Myanmar's capital Yangon. The five-star hotel, located near Inya Lake in the central business district of the city, consists of a 15-story hotel building (343 rooms) and a 29-story long-term serviced apartment building (315 rooms). POSCO Daewoo is responsible for the overall management while Lotte Hotels and Resorts taking charge of daily management. On the opening day, Myanmar Minister of Hotels and Tourism Ohn Maung, Chief Ministe...




my

LG International Kicks off Cement Production in Myanmar

LG International Corp., Korea's leading general trading company, is set to kick off the operation of a cement factory in Myanmar for which it has invested for two years. This is part of the company's strategy to preempt the rapidly growing Myanmar market by becoming the first general trading firm to build a cement plant in the Southeast Asian nation. According to industry sources on September 11, LG International is currently making a pilot run of the cement plant in the erstwhile reclusive c...




my

2 Great Dividend Deals I Just Made For My Retirement Portfolio





my

UK Local Government Pensions speedbrief: Local Government Pension Scheme liabilities on academy conversions

Local Government Pension Scheme liabilities on academy conversionsBackground The treatment of Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) liabilities on academy conversions has been presenting significant difficulties for some time, with pension liabilit...




my

Buyer beware – Mystery Shopper is out there…and there is more to come!!

Although the "Mystery Shopper" has been around since February 2011, with the release of the Public Procurement Note 09/15 ("PPN 09/15") on 1 June 2015, we can expect to see a rise in the number of procurement investigations. PPN 09/15 explains the n...




my

UK Competition law – Is it fit for the digital economy?

With the rapid growth of the digital economy, a number of competition authorities, as well as governments1 are in the process of assessing whether their competition enforcement tools are fit for the digital economy. In the UK, the Government commiss...




my

With a Little Help from My Friends




my

My Son Is a Nurse. The Coronavirus Means I Worry About Losing Him Every Day.

His New York City hospital has been all pandemic, all the time. ......




my

Feature story: Army veteran earns living by riding tricycle

Narrated by Zhang Minghong I walked into the studio of the Beijing TV on October 30, 2019 and participated in the recording of a TV program to talk about my life after retirement from the Chinese military over 30 years ago. In fact, I am a very ordinary Chinese veteran. I have been retired from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) for nearly 30 years and have been earning a living by loading and unloading and riding a tricycle in Ya'an, a city in the western part of China's Sichuan Province. During this time, I haven't done anything incredible. I think the reason why the TV station invited me to participate in the show has to do with the belief that I have persisted for so many years....




my

Venezuelan Army Announces Arrest of Two More Mercenaries Involved in Failed Maduro Kidnap Attempt

On Sunday, the Venezuelan army frustrated an...




my

Israel: Bennett leaves the army after approving a number of serious settlement projects

The settlement report said that in strange and reprehensible statements that reflect the Zionist colonial and racist ideology, the American ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, urged the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz to accelerate the announcement of the annexation of areas in the occupied West Bank to Israel. He told an Israeli newspaper that “if the government of Israel announces this, the United States will be prepared to recognize, in the coming weeks, Israel’s sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and Israeli settlement in Judea and Samaria, and that it will recognize 30% of the occupied West Bank as areas of Israel within the deal of the century in the...




my

UN’s Development Goals Threatened by a World Economy Facing Recession

The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), described as an integral part of its highly-ambitious development agenda, may be in deep trouble. Aimed at addressing some of the global challenges the world faces– including extreme poverty and hunger, inequalities in incomes and gender, climate change and environmental degradation– the SDGs now seem threatened by a […]

The post UN’s Development Goals Threatened by a World Economy Facing Recession appeared first on Inter Press Service.




my

Best restaurants in Istanbul, ranked by Turkey's Pearly Gastronomy Guide

The Hürriyet newspaper's jury of experts has created the "Pearly Gastronomy Guide" to rank Turkey's best restaurants. Click through for the top 20 restaurants in Istanbul, according to the 2018 guide...




my

2,200 year-old mythological masks unearthed in Turkey's west

Masks, which were estimated to be 2,200 years old and were engraved on marble blocks of the mythology gods of that period, are seen after being unearthed at Ancient City of Stratonikeia, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Tentative Lists in the Aegean province of Muğla.




my

Red Army Choir performs Ottoman war song amid pandemic

Russia's Red Army Choir shot a video at home playing notes from the Ottoman military band Mehter in support of Turkey's fight with the novel coronavirus.



  • Arts & Life

my

EU Circular Economy - Opportunity to Comment on Roadmap for New Action Plan

The end of December 2019 saw the next step in the EU’s commitment to the adoption of a circular economy as the EU Commission published a road map on a new action plan which aims to speed up the transition to a circular economy. The new plan is...




my

Recovery of East Africa economy priority for 2021 budgets

Efforts include trimming of non-core expenditures such as travel and trainings.




my

My life on the run from COVID-19

Right now I am in voluntary self-quarantine after returning from overseas. When I flew into Kansai International Airport from the island of Bali on March ...




my

Parliament’s act: A motion of infamy

I have spoken to a number of Members of Parliament. Some say, the President “undressed” them before the electorate




my

Economy: Government should bail out the working poor too

Covid-19: In discussions about resuscitating the economy, the provision of cheap credit to the working poor has hardly featured. Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi explores some of the measures the government can employ to help out this class of businesses.




my

Kenya: History Made as Army Names First Female Spokesperson

[Nation] Zipporah Kioko is the new Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spokesperson, becoming the first woman officer to hold the position.




my

Crash of Plane Carrying Coronavirus Medical Supplies Shrouded in Mystery

[DW] Kenya has demanded an investigation into a fatal crash of a humanitarian aircraft which killed all people on board.




my

WHO and European Union Unite to Fight a Common Enemy to Humanity

[WHO] The WHO country office and the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Somalia have joined hands under a new collaboration in the country to strengthen operational response activities for COVID-19. The new collaboration aims to accelerate support for the frontline work of WHO in combating COVID-19 in a seemingly vast country where transportation of vital medical supplies and personnel needed for rapid response to the outbreak remain a perpetual challenge owing to suspension of commercial and cargo flights




my

Iranian Human Rights Activist Ali Ajami Mysteriously Drowned In Houston Park Lake

The body of Ali Ajami, an Iranian human rights activist, was discovered in McGovern Lake at Hermann Park, Houston, Texas, on Wednesday. The cause of death remains unknown. Houston Police on Wednesday started an investigation into the death of a deceased male found in a pond at Hermann Park but said no other information was available yet. Iranian social media users have reported that the body belonged to thirty-seven-year-old Iranian human rights activist Ali Ajami.




my

Is God's Primary Concern My Earthly Blessing?

In the lead-up to the Truth Matters conference in October, we will be focusing our attention on the sufficiency, authority, and clarity of Scripture. Of our previous blog series, none better embodies that emphasis than Frequently Abused Verses. The following entry from that series originally appeared on October 7, 2015. -ed.

Just as a single cell of cancer can metastasize until it spreads throughout the physical body, a single false doctrine can multiply itself and spread throughout a body of believers. A great forest fire can be started by one spark.[1] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Galatians (Chicago: Moody Press, 1987), 140.

Throughout this series on Scripture’s “Frequently Abused Verses,” we’ve seen how God’s Word has been misunderstood and misapplied, as well as instances when it is intentionally twisted to accommodate blasphemous lies and spurious doctrines. Today we’re going to consider how the misappropriation of one verse—3 John 2—triggered a heretical movement that has been a scourge for God’s people and blight on the testimony of the church for more than half of a century.

The Roots of the Prosperity Gospel

Not long after Oral Roberts’s death—and amidst a tidal wave of glowing praise for the pioneering televangelist—John MacArthur wrote this summation of the preacher’s life and ministry:

Oral Roberts’s influence is not something Bible-believing Christians should celebrate. Virtually every aberrant idea the Pentecostal and charismatic movements spawned after 1950 can be traced in one way or another to Oral Roberts’s influence.

One of his primary legacies is the prosperity gospel. As John explains in the article quoted above, the prosperity gospel “is the notion that God's favor is expressed mainly through physical health and material prosperity, and that these blessings are available for the claiming by anyone who has sufficient faith.”

Roberts might not have been the first person to teach that false doctrine, but through his television ministry he served as its chief herald and the primary catalyst for its rapid growth and widespread acceptance.

And according to Roberts’s biographer, David Edwin Harrell, Jr., the televangelist’s commitment to the prosperity gospel was born out of a crisis of faith and a new perspective on an overlooked verse.

Out of this period of spiritual trauma came a sequence of instantaneous insights, revelations as Oral viewed them. The first occurred one morning as he read III John 2: “I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as they soul prospereth.” Oral had rushed out of his house one morning to catch the bus to class when he realized he had not read his Bible as was his custom. He returned, hastily grabbed his Bible, opened it “at random,” and read III John 2. He had read his New Testament, he reported, at least a hundred times, but this verse seemed brand-new. He called Evelyn and read it to her. “That is not in the Bible,” she challenged. “It is,” Oral replied, “I just read it.” “Evelyn,” he said, “we have been wrong. I haven’t been preaching that God is good. And Evelyn, if this verse is right, God is a good God.” The idea seemed revolutionary, liberating. They had been nurtured in a belief system that insisted “you had to be poor to be a Christian.” Perhaps it was not so. They talked excitedly about the verse’s implications. Did it mean they could have a “new car,” a “new house,” a “brand-new ministry?” In later years, Evelyn looked back on that morning as the point of embarkation: “I really believe that that very morning was the beginning of this worldwide ministry that he has had, because it opened up his thinking.”

Oral’s new-found insight was soon put to a practical test. The agent was a Mr. Gustavus, a neighbor who owned the Buick automobile dealership in Enid. Mr. Gus liked Oral, and, although he was a “nonreligious” man, he listened to his neighbor’s preaching occasionally and liked his emphasis on the “here and now.” One morning Mr. Gus noted that Oral’s car looked “pretty bad” and suggested that he buy a new one. It seemed a preposterous idea. Cars were still “practically unobtainable” in these postwar months, and there was no slack in the Robertses’ tight budget. But Mr. Gus showed them a way; he sold their old car for the “highest ceiling” price and acquired a new Buick for Oral at “dealer’s cost.” Mr. Gus, Oral, and Evelyn drove together to Detroit to pick up the car. As they drove back to Enid in their “brand new . . . long, green slick Buick,” Oral and Evelyn pondered the significance of this seemingly impossible turn. Evelyn asked Oral to stop: “We have just got to hold hands and praise the Lord for this car.” For Oral, the “new car became a symbol to me of what a man could do if he would believe God.” Nor was Mr. Gus through. He kept egging Oral on. “Son, the message you are preaching is too big for one town,” he told Oral, “the country is waiting for it. . . . Preach it, son. And you will stir this generation.” [2] David Edwin Harrell, Jr., Oral Roberts: An American Life (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1985) 65-66.

Of course there are plenty of other Bible verses that have been contorted by prosperity preachers to support their false teaching—we looked at one of them earlier in this series. But 3 John 2 is the textual soil that sprouted Roberts’s prosperity gospel, and the massive family tree of prosperity preachers who have carried on his heretical legacy.

And when you consider how the lies of the prosperity gospel have permeated and poisoned the church, you understand why the details matter, and the damage that can be done when we play fast and loose with God’s Word. The careless reading and application of this one verse has spawned multiple generations of false prophets and fraudulent healers who have feasted on the spiritually naïve and theologically shallow. And by continuing to perpetuate Roberts’s false teaching, they further tarnish the testimony of God’s Word and His people. In many parts of the world, the face of Christianity is a sneering charlatan with his hand out, preaching the get-rich gospel of health and wealth to people who have neither.

When it comes to biblical interpretation, the details are vitally important.

True Prosperity

And in the case of 3 John 2, the details make the true meaning of the verse abundantly clear. In his short letter to a man named Gaius, the apostle John wrote, “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.”

The reality is that the apostle’s words are not a prophecy of blessing. As John MacArthur explains in his commentary on 3 John, “The phrase ‘I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health’ was a standard greeting in ancient letters.” [3] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1-3 John (Chicago: Moody Press, 2007) 245.

The salutations of the epistles are rich with doctrinal truth (cf. Romans 1:1-7; Galatians 1:1-5; 1 Peter 1:1-2). But it’s not theologically safe or hermeneutically sound to turn a greeting to a specific audience into a promise for all believers.

Moreover, the apostle’s words here don’t support an emphasis on physical blessings like health and wealth, since that’s the opposite of the point John was making. He was praising God for the good report on the quality of Gaius’s character. As John MacArthur explains, the apostle’s focus was spiritual prosperity.

“Prosper” translates a form of the verb euodoō. The term, used only here, Romans 1:10, and 1 Corinthians 16:2, means “to succeed,” “to have things go well,” or “to enjoy favorable circumstances.” The first use of prosper in verse 2 refers to Gaius’s physical health, as the contrast with the last part of the verse makes clear. The apostle’s wish was that Gaius’s physical health would be as good as that of his spiritual.

John’s concern for Gaius is a pastoral desire that he be free from the turmoil, pain, and debilitation of illness so as to be unrestricted in his service to the Lord and His church. . . .

But [in contrast to his physical condition] Gaius’s healthy soul brought far more delight to John. He knew he had a vibrant spiritual life. To borrow from some other apostles, Gaius was among those who are “sound in the faith” (Titus 1:13); constantly “grow[ing] in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18); “walk[ing] in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). [4] The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1-3 John, 245-246.

When considering how the Lord might bless us, we need to keep in mind that His blessings are not merely for our benefit. As long as He grants us breath, He has use of us for the work of His kingdom. It stands to reason then that even the physical blessings we enjoy have eternal purposes—and for the sake of His glory and His church, we need to pursue those purposes.

God is in the business of building His church, not handing out Buicks.




my

The Blasphemy of the Mass

In the practice of the mass, the Roman Catholic Church has reinstituted an unbiblical system of repeated sacrifices, blaspheming Christ and perverting His work on the cross.

READ MORE




my

Report: Child soldiers deployed to Libya by Turkish-backed Syrian National Army

An exclusive report, citing sources on the ground in Syria and Libya, says Syrian teenagers are being sent to Libya to take part in the civil war there.




my

NTU's role in boosting country's economy lauded

FAISALABAD: Federal Secretary for Education and Professional Training Dr Sajid Yoosufani on Friday visited the National Textile University here. NTU Rector Prof Dr Tanveer Hussain gave briefing to him about the institution. The secretary also visited various departments of the varsity and showed...




my

China starts campaign to help new graduates find jobs as economy slumps

Beijing has kicked off a campaign to help graduates entering the labour market as the country faces growing pressure to reboot the sagging economy and tackle unemployment.Ten initiatives were announced to find jobs for this year’s 8.74 million new graduates in an online launch on Wednesday by officials from the labour, education, human resources, and industry and information technology ministries.The “100-day” campaign – highlighting the urgency for young people to find work – includes more…




my

China urged to focus on domestic economy in next five-year plan to counter more hostile world

China’s will face an increasingly hostile world over the next five years, meaning its policy plan should be focused on its vast domestic market, home-grown technological innovation and improving its citizens’ welfare, according to recommendations in a new paper.The report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), a think tank affiliated with the State Council, foresees the next five years presenting “major changes unseen in a century” for China, as “the strategic game between…




my

Coronavirus: India’s migrant workers are leaving cities. That’s a big problem for the economy

In Surat, a textile hub in India’s western state of Gujarat, losses are mounting for Bhagwandas Maloo, whose five garment factories producing traditional festive outfits have been shut for seven weeks due to the coronavirus lockdown.He was relieved when the government announced it would allow some businesses to resume production this week. But traumatised by the lockdown, Maloo’s group of about 250 migrant workers, who are skilled craftsmen from India’s northern and eastern regions, announced…




my

My 11,000 tilapia and catfish side hustle

Enos Odongo is a building contractor, but on the side, he runs a fish farm as he seeks to cash in on rising demand for the produce




my

I missed my mother most when I gave birth

Her number was always the first I called whenever I was in a fix.




my

It’s time we rethought our idea of monogamy

Some people are just built differently. Some people are poor at compromising.




my

Why are my pimples out of control despite trying everything?

Doc, I have tried some creams like Betasone and Clozole b




my

One in seven US workers jobless as pandemic shock to economy hits

Conservative economist Steven Moore, a Trump ally, said there will be 30 million people out of work in the country if the economy doesn't open back up soon.




my

Donald Trump's three-phase plan to reopen economy to take months

Federal officials have warned that some social distancing measures may need to remain in place through to the end of the year to prevent a new outbreak.




my

'Invisible enemy': Trump to suspend immigration due to virus

President says he will be signing an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States.




my

Israeli missiles target fighters near Palmyra

Syrian state TV gave no further details about the attacks, the latest to hit central Syria in three weeks.




my

Ariel Winter recounts horrific cooking accident: 'I sliced off my thumb and threw it away'

Ariel Winter shocked her fans after revealing a harrowing accident she had once while cooking at her place




my

My surprising discovery about women’s opportunities in Armenia -- by Saleha Waseem

Underserved businesses run by women in Armenia need help to create a reliable client base and convince skeptical banks that their enterprises are a good investment.




my

Five myths about population, aging and environmental sustainability -- by Jane O'Sullivan, Francesco Ricciardi, Susann Roth

For sustainable development, universal wellbeing should be the goal, rather than endless growth. Minimizing further growth in human populations is only part of the solution, but an essential part.