Author Archives: Kami Klein

Violence at Temple Mount During Start of Jewish Holiday Sukkot

Violence once again erupted between Palestinians and Israeli riot police after young protesters barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount, despite an order permitting only men over the age of 50 to enter the compound for prayers.  Women of any age are also allowed entry.  Israel has imposed the ban during times of unrest because it is for the most part, young palestinian men who throw rocks at the holy site. This comes as Jerusalem is filled with those who have come to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.  

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City has been a sore point for both Palestinians and Jews.  This ground is very much a center point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Muslims revere it as the place they believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven, while the Jews call it the Temple Mount, the site of the two biblical Jewish temples.  

Palestinians stockpiled rocks and other projectiles at the Al-Aqsa mosque overnight, according to police spokeswoman Luba Samri.

Palestinians threw rocks, firebombs and firecrackers from within the mosque at the police, Samri also added that the fire bombs sparked a fire at the entrance to the mosque. Waqf guards did not prevent the “desecration of the sanctity of the place,” she said .

Police had tried to negotiate with the Waqf – the Islamic religious authority that oversees the compound – to call for calm, but talks failed and police entered the compound to seize the “dangerous devices intended to harm visitors to the site and police and endanger their lives,” Samri added.

Israeli Police were able to restore calm  but occasional stone throwing continued throughout the morning.  They reported that by noon the site was quiet.

Charisma Founder Steve Strang To be Guest on the Jim Bakker Show!

Morningside and The Jim Bakker Show are excited to announce that publisher and founder of Charisma magazine, Steve Strang, will be joining us on Grace Street, Thursday, October 8th, 2015 at 11:30 am CT.

Charisma, is now celebrating it’s 40th anniversary and has been a trusted source of news, teaching and inspiration to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Steve is an award-winning journalist, entrepreneur, businessman and author. He is also founder and president of Charisma Media, which in addition to Charisma, publishes Ministry Today, the Spanish magazine Vida Cristiana and many other respected publications.  His many businesses and other innovative products have earned a reputation as the world’s leading charismatic publisher!

This will be an amazing visit with a truly charismatic man of God.  We hope you can join us!

Greece Must Implement Terms of EU Bailout Quickly

Newly re-elected, left wing Prime Minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras announced that Greece must “quickly implement” the terms of the EU bailout agreed upon in July. During  his first Cabinet meeting, Tsipras stressed that his aim is to have steered the country out of its crisis by 2019 when his four-year mandate ends.

“We are aware of the difficult points of the deal… we know how to find the right antidote where there are side effects,” Tsipras said today. “This mandate is translated into one word; work.”

A review by the lenders will be conducted in late October to determine if the reform program has been implemented.   

Tsipras highlighted another crisis for his country, saying that  the government’s task was made into an even greater challenge by Europe’s migrant flows.

Greece has become the main point of entry into Europe for those fleeing war and poverty in the Syria and war torn Africa, most of whom then head by land to richer EU countries further north.

Pope Address U.N. Encouraging Humanity over Politics

Just a day after his historic speech to the U.S. Congress, Pope Francis addressed the U.N. calling for world powers to stop putting political interests ahead of human suffering in the Middle East.  

“We cannot permit ourselves to postpone ‘certain agendas’ for the future. The future demands of us critical and global decisions in the face of worldwide conflicts which increase the number of the excluded and those in need.”

Pope Francis, the 5th Pope to address the U.N. in history, also stressed a call for peace and environmental justice, and blame the exploitation of natural resources on “a selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity.”

The Pope addressed issues such as the environment, weapons of mass destruction, persecution of Christians and all religious groups and the importance of remembering those who are cast off and forgotten.  

“The common home of all men and women must continue to rise on the foundations of a right understanding of universal fraternity and respect for the sacredness of every human life, of every man and every woman, the poor, the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned, those considered disposable because they are only considered as part of a statistic.”

After concluding his speech the Pope’s next stop was an emotional visit to the 9/11 Monument. Speaking in Spanish, Pope Francis addressed the crowd,

“This is a place where we shed tears” he said. “We weep out of a sense of helplessness in the face of injustice, murder, and the failure to settle conflicts through dialogue. Here we mourn the wrongful and senseless loss of innocent lives because of the inability to find solutions which respect the common good. This flowing water reminds us of yesterday’s tears, but also of all the tears still being shed today.”

First Ever Withdrawal from Svalbard Global Seed Vault Due to War

Scientists have requested the first-ever withdrawal of seeds from  the Svalbard Global Seed Vault , a Doomsday vault built in the Arctic to safeguard the world’s food supplies, officials said Friday. The International Center for Agricultural Research (ICARDA) said it has made a request to take back some of its samples due to Syria’s Civil war.

On September 21, Reuters reported that officials from the ICARDA seed bank in Aleppo — which has moved to Beirut, for now, because of the Syrian civil war — requested 116,000 samples from the Svalbard Vault. The seed samples were needed to restore a collection that had been damaged by the conflict, which has killed approximately 250,000 people and caused more than 11 million to flee their homes.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, preserves millions of seeds, representing more than 860,000 important crop varieties from around the world: a final backup to protect against natural disasters, war, and climate change. It is located 500 feet deep inside a mountain on a remote island between Norway and the North Pole.

Unusual Weather Event in the Western Atlantic

It has been 101 years since this last happened.  And it is “blowing the minds” of meteorologists. Eric Blake, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center (NHC), commented on the lack of hurricanes west of 55 degrees longitude in the Atlantic basin so far this season. Blake said this marks the first time there have been no western Atlantic hurricanes through Sept. 22 since 1914.

At the anniversary of Hurricane Rita in 2005 the compared numbers from 10 years ago is astounding. In that year there were 31 Tropical Systems, 27 named storms and 15 hurricanes. While 2015 has had several named storms, there have been no hurricanes this year at all!  

Two factors working against hurricane development, wind shear and dry air, have been quite prevalent from the Gulf of Mexico into much of the Caribbean all summer long.

Hurricanes thrive off of rich, tropical moisture evaporating into the air from warm ocean water and cannot feed off of the dryer air.  Wind shear, or the change of wind direction and speed with height, creates a hostile environment for tropical systems, as it too disrupts the ability of clouds and thunderstorms to organize in a way that supports the formation or continuation of a hurricane.

El Niño can be partially to blame. This setup features warming of the Pacific Ocean and is generally associated with unfavorable wind patterns across the western Atlantic.

Meanwhile in the Pacific Ocean warm and active atmospheric moisture has also been well above average in that area. The result has been nine hurricanes in the eastern Pacific, but zero in the adjacent western Atlantic.

With El Niño continuing and no signs of any major changes, the western Atlantic hurricane drought may continue for a while.

Pope Francis Gives Historic Address to Congress

In an historic two hour speech, Pope Francis, the first-ever pontiff to address a joint meeting of Congress, encouraged the United States to use its power to heal the “open wounds” of a planet torn by hatred, greed, poverty and pollution.  Using biblical and historical references, Pope Francis reminded political leaders, “All political activity must serve and promote the good of the human person and be based on respect for his or her dignity”   

Pope Francis urged the United States not to turn its back on undocumented immigrants or to reject the victimization of religious and ethnic minorities.  He also addressed what is happening with the increasing violence in our world today.  

“All of us are quite aware of, and deeply worried by, the disturbing social and political situation of the world today. Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of religion. We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind. A delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms.”

The Pope asked lawmakers to wage a constant battle against poverty and to ensure the wealth of the world is equitably shared and used to create jobs.

Francis, who is on a six-day U.S. visit, was watched not only by a packed chamber of lawmakers but also thousands of people who gathered outside the Capitol. After his lunch with the homeless at a Catholic charity in Washington, Francis will head to New York where he will ride his popemobile through Manhattan and lead evening prayers at St Patrick’s Cathedral.

Los Angeles Declares Homeless Situation an Emergency

Los Angeles’ elected leaders on Tuesday said they would declare a “state of emergency” and devote up to $100 million to a growing homeless population problem. But they offered few details about where the money would come from or how it would be spent, leaving some to question the effort’s chances of success.

“We all understand the urgency that this situation requires, and what is at stake,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “I applaud the Los Angeles City Council for their action today in earmarking a necessary initial investment that helps launch my comprehensive plan to tackle homelessness.”

According to figures released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, homelessness has increased 12% since the mayor took office two years ago.

“It’s time to get real, because this is literally a matter of life and death,” said Councilman Mike Bonin, whose Westside district is home to many of the makeshift sidewalk encampments that are an increasingly glaring symbol of the problem across the city. He spoke of a “collective failure of every level of government to deal with what has been a homeless crisis for generations and is exploding and exacerbating now.”

Los Angeles has one of the largest unsheltered populations in the country, and more than an estimated 25,000 homeless residents.

Chinese President Arrives in U.S. Denies Hacking

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Seattle on Tuesday. He is in the U.S. on a week-long visit that will include meetings with U.S. business leaders, a black-tie state dinner at the White House and an address at the United Nations.

His arrival was met by questions on subjects such as economic reform to cyber attacks, human rights and commercial theft.

Xi, delivered a keynote address to some 650 business executives and other guests in Seattle and touched on a many of the issues that have caused friction to U.S.-China ties.

“China will not manipulate its currency to boost exports and will never engage in commercial theft,” he said, adding his country will not discriminate against foreign businesses, will speed its market opening and make efforts to improve human rights.

“If China and the U.S. cooperate well, they can become a bedrock of global stability…,” Xi said. “Should they enter into conflict or confrontation, it would lead to disaster for both countries and the world at large.”

In an attempt to reassure high tech businesses Xi offered, “The Chinese government will not in whatever form engage in commercial theft, and hacking against government networks. These are crimes that must be punished in accordance with the law and relevant international treaties.”

The Pentagon said on Tuesday that a Chinese aircraft performed an unsafe maneuver during an air intercept of a U.S. spy plane off China’s northeast coast last week as a reminder of the potential hot points between the two countries.
Among the few agreements expected to result from the Obama-Xi summit has been a military-to-military confidence building step aimed at reducing the risk of aerial collisions between warplanes in areas including the South China Sea through agreeing on common rules of behavior.

Rick Wiles: “God Is Whispering to You”

Recently, we have been listening to the prophets as we enjoyed our Prophetic Conference September 14 – 18. From morning until night we heard from God, we heard truth being spoken from many gifted voices. On Friday night, our prophetic conference concluded with our special guest Rick Wiles.

Rick Wiles, founder of TruNews, was led to speak to us about truly listening to what the Lord is saying to all of us. Rick addressed the question of whether the Holy Spirit has stopped talking.

“Where does it say that the Holy Spirit went mute and stopped talking two thousand years ago? There are some people that believe every single thing someone says that God is saying to them, but there has to be discernement. Satan gets in and confuses people. Discernment is key to knowing what God’s voice is.”

Wiles encouraged people to remember that God is talking to us all the time, wanting us to feel close to him. We expect him to be yelling out to us with signs and hearing His voice loud and clear but sometimes we have to listen harder and it is only because God is whispering.

“The reason God whispers to us is to beckon to us. If I am speaking to you in a very low whisper you have to get to the place where you are cheek to cheek with me to hear me. The reason God lowers his voice is to draw you closer to him. He is not being silent. You have to turn off the distractions. Society is inundated with distractions. Turn it off and listen to God’s voice.”

Reminding us too that God is not all flash and signs but desires a personal relationship with us. Every day He is sending His gifts and signs of His love for us, but we are not paying attention. We are not taking that time to spend and listen to what God wishes for us and what He is willing to show our hearts. Rick went on to say,

“People tend to want to know about the dramatic stuff. It’s always on the extreme. God moves in a quiet way and you have to look and listen and discern what God is doing in our lives. If you are going to walk in this time that we are in, you are going to have to listen to the whisper. We shouldn’t need huge signs all around us! We should be hearing his voice! Hearing, discerning and obeying.”

Learning to hear God was what this Prophetic Conference was all about and the amazing speakers found here at Morningside filled us with truly heartfelt revelations of these times. We do hope you will consider ordering these very valuable teachings. This is an incredible DVD set containing all of the show tapings, afternoon sessions and evening services. We wish you could have been here with us but we made sure you wouldn’t miss a single moment!