At least 13 people have been killed in central Somalia on Saturday after a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a restaurant packed with local officials and politicians.
The dead were mostly civilians and 20 other people were wounded in the town of Beledweyne, police spokesman Dini Roble Ahmed said. The blast caused “huge damage”, he added.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz met Saturday with US Vice President Kamala Harris on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference.
Saturday’s meeting with Harris focused on the issue of ongoing Iran nuclear talks, as well as the situation in Ukraine, according to Gantz.
“I expressed my gratitude to US President Biden and the VP for their commitment to preventing a nuclear Iran. I told her that any future agreement must include consistent enforcement by the IAEA in addition to handling the open files in the nuclear program,” Gantz said in a statement.
“I also thanked her for the United States’ important role in maintaining stability in the Middle East, in the face of regional aggression perpetrated by Iran and its proxies,” he said.
“We also discussed the importance of expanding the Abraham Accords, the situation in Ukraine, and the importance of confidence-building measures with the Palestinians. I updated the VP [on] steps I plan to take in order to deepen cooperation with our neighbors in the region,” he added.
Israel and its regional allies are developing a joint defense pact to protect against the threat of suicide drones, Israeli television reported Saturday.
According to Channel 12 news, Israel began working on the arrangement with regional countries following drone and cruise missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that have been attributed to Iran’s proxies in Yemen and Iraq.
If the pact comes into existence, member states that identify a launch toward a neighboring country could warn that nation and assist in downing the drone.
The network, which did not cite a source, said the effort includes neighbors near and far, but didn’t give further details.
The TV report came a day after Israeli air defenses failed to down a small drone that entered the country from Lebanon, which the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group claimed responsibility for launching.
Texas Penal Code § 38.12(a) makes it a felony to talk to someone in hopes of finding employment.
(a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to obtain an economic benefit the person:
(1) knowingly institutes a suit or claim that the person has not been authorized to pursue; [or] (2) solicits employment, either in person or by telephone, for himself or for another; [or] (3) ...
For no other reason than that she was a working mom with a great personality and an important job making sure people drive safely through the city of Detroit, a traffic control officer was recently on the receiving end of all the goodness social media can wield.
It started when TikTok account MDMotivators interviewed Lanita Edge on duty in the middle of the road, gabbing as she does with passers-by, and wishing people a happy Mother’s Day.
She revealed in the video which went viral that she felt it was an important service to the city—to help people get where they need to go and get home safely. She explained she was born and raised in the Motor City, and was a Tigers fan.
Meanwhile, Zackery had secretly set up a crowdfunding campaign that amassed $50,000, a gift simply for being her fine self, that was delivered on the grass in the Tiger’s ballpark.
Pride deserves to die, but it is hard to spot and even harder to kill. Pride is a slippery sin because it is a shape-shifter. Jonathan Edwards said pride is “the most hidden, secret, and deceitful of all sins.” Let me give you an example. Here is a conversation that I might have with myself after a meeting at church:
“That meeting went really well. I think the turning point might have been when I asked that question which no one had thought to ask before. Wait a minute! That was such a prideful thought. It sounds like I am taking credit for the meeting going well. I am such a prideful person. I hate my pride.”
Meanwhile three seconds later, “I fight pride pretty hard. I’m glad that I caught that initial prideful thought. I wonder if other people are as aware of their pride and fight it as hard as I do. Wait a minute! It just happened again. I am taking pride in my awareness of pride. O, deliver me from this body of death, Lord Jesus! Thank you God that you give us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I am very qualified to speak on pride because I am so proud. I hate my pride, but what I take even more seriously is how God hates it so much more.
Pride is our greatest enemy because it makes God our enemy — an almighty opponent. “God opposes the proud” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). Why? What makes pride so singularly repulsive to God is the way that pride contends for supremacy with God himself. Pride is not one sin among many, but a sin in a class by itself. Other sins lead the sinner further from God, but pride is particularly heinous in that it attempts to elevate the sinner above God.
Pride is not just a sin, but a sinful mother — a sinful orientation that gives birth to more sins. For example, pride can lead to lying. You tell a lie because you are too proud to admit you were wrong or you did something wrong. But the problem is so much bigger. Pride doesn’t just tell lies; it is a lie.
Why? Pride is self-obsession; pride is preoccupation with ourselves. Therefore, it is a lie about reality. It says I am worth thinking about all the time. It is an orientation that wrongly assumes that everything revolves around us.
And what started off badly–the relationship–doesn’t get any better just because a bond forms.
For example, let’s say you dated someone who abused you. You really loved them, but they weren’t willing to change, so you found the courage to end the relationship. You try to move on, but you just can’t get that person out of your mind.
Or maybe …
You used to be married, but your spouse cheated on you and left years ago. You’ve forgiven them, and you really meant it when you did. You don’t harbor any animosity toward your ex. However, you still can’t stop thinking about them. You haven’t been able to get free from the memories of what they did, even though you’ve tried.
Or maybe …
You used to be bullied a lot when you were growing up. In the adult world, people no longer bully you; but you still catch yourself shying away from people, thinking that they will. You feel like the bullying happened just yesterday, even though it was years ago. And like the situation above, you may have even forgiven them–but you still suffer from the damage inflicted on you.
A soul tie is a spiritual phenomena that happens when your soul (your mind, will, and emotions) become linked to another person. Some soul ties are good. For example:
In that situation, with the pastor and his/her sheep, the parishioner can have a real fondness or even brotherly love for the pastor, and the pastor appreciates the parishioner and has a fatherly love for that person. That kind of relationship is a good thing. God’s Word tells us to love and honor our pastors.
In all these situations, the bond that forms between the people in these holy relationships is a godly thing. It edifies, encourages, and lifts up both people who have the connection with one another.
Have you ever tried to stop thinking about someone or something, but you just haven’t been able to? Have you tried and tried to forget about that ex-boyfriend, ex-girlfriend, ex-husband, ex-wife, or the friend who did you wrong … to no avail?
Have you ever gotten frustrated with yourself because you haven’t been able to just move on … even though you’ve tried so hard?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, you may have a soul tie.
Persecution Live 