"That is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying." — Hebrews 2:14–15 (CEV)

Last year, SCWA sent a team of workers to travel the length of Togo, meeting with people in villages and towns and talking about accusations of witchcraft against children. Many people were afraid to speak openly of this phenomenon, even though they acknowledged a widespread awareness of its existence and the harm it caused. Much of this reluctance to speak related to fear: fear of bringing harm upon themselves and fear of death. When a death occurs, this is itself often a trigger of witchcraft accusations as people try to make sense of such loss. Fear of death can make people slaves. Only Jesus can set them free.

JESUS DIED TO RESCUE ALL OF US WHO LIVE EACH DAY IN FEAR OF DYING. — HEBREWS 2:15

Thank God

• Thank God for giving us a way to be free from the fear of death, through Jesus, and for giving us opportunities to bring freedom to others who are slaves to fear.
• Fear of death is not insurmountable. We thank you, God, for SCWA and its network of collaborators, who are bringing a message of hope and reconciliation to those accused of witchcraft and to those who accuse others.

Please Pray

• Recently, an academic team in the UK agreed to analyse the research into the roots, realities and responses of witchcraft accusations, performed in Togo villages and towns last year. Pray that this work will bring greater understanding of the issues — and Togo’s specific context — and support the efforts of local church leaders in addressing child witchcraft accusations.
• Pray that, through gentle exploration, affected communities and churches will be equipped to discuss both witchcraft accusations and the fear of death in a way that brings light, love, reconciliation and hope for the future. Where death, violence and rejection divide, we pray that forgiveness will heal.

http://stop-cwa.org/posts/prayer-bulletin-no8-2017

1. China has been building what it calls "the world's biggest camera surveillance network". Across the country, 170 million CCTV cameras are already in place and an estimated 400 million new ones will be installed in the next three years. 

Many of the cameras are fitted with artificial intelligence, including facial recognition technology. The BBC's John Sudworth has been given rare access to one of the new hi-tech police control rooms.

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-china-42248056/in-your-face-china-s-all-seeing-state

The “Beast” ubiquitous surveillance system continues to advance with the goal of the absolute control of the worlds population as slaves of the anti-christ!

1. Middle East- Middle Eastern governments are using high tech mass surveillance tools to monitor their citizens.

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-40531967/weapons-of-mass-surveillance

Doug Riggs, Pastor

Let’s pray that these attempts to control whole populations and thus dominate them will be counteracted and foiled by concerned citizens. Pray for the exposure of governmental schemes to use the fear of terrorism as a cover for the invasion of privacy on a mass scale.

Confronting the Jewish Holocaust in Nazi Germany, Dietrich Bonhoeffer boldly declared: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

This holds true in America today, given our own holocaust of abortion, where 60 million innocent babies have been destroyed in gas chambers called abortion clinics.

http://www.wnd.com/2017/12/lets-break-americas-shameful-silence-in-face-of-evil/

• Kim Jong Out? Some see signs of collapse  No shots fired at defector, U.S. preps 'infiltration,' economy on brink http://www.wnd.com/2017/12/kim-jong-out-some-see-signs-of-collapse/

• North Korean source of massive computer worm attack. TheWashington Postreports the Trump administrationidentified North Korea as the source of the WannaCry computer worm that affected 230,000 computers earlier this year. The administration called on “all responsible states” to counter North Korea’s ability to conduct cyberattacks and to implement all “relevant” UN sanctions. “The [WannaCry] attack was widespread and cost billions, and North Korea is directly responsible,” said a Trump administration official.  “We do not make this allegation lightly. It is based on evidence. We are not alone with our findings, either.”[i] Note: Russia should share some of the blame because that nation facilitated North Korea’s enhanced access to the worldwide web.

• SECDEF claims N Korea’s ICBM not yet “capable threat.” Reutersreports U.S. SECDEF Jim Mattis saidthat even as an analysis continued on North Korea’s most recent missile test, he does not believe its ICBM is capable of threatening the U.S. homeland. “It has not yet shown to be a capable threat against us right now … we’re still doing the forensics analysis,” Mattis said.[ii]

Other dangerous areas of our world

• Chinese warplanes test neighbors’ air defenses. TheAssociated Pressreports Chinese warplanes on a long-range drill to the Sea of Japanconducted drills around rival Taiwan, an action that prompted South Korea to scramble fighter aircraft. A Chinese air force spokesman said its air force dispatched bombers, fighters and reconnaissance planes through the Tsushima Strait to the Sea of Japan to “test its ocean combat ability.” “This is a regular annual training arrangement of China’s air force that accords with the relevant international laws and practices and it isn’t aimed at any particular state, region and target,” the spokesman said in a statement.[iv] Note: Beijing is steadily increasing pressure throughout the Indo-Pacific region through its far reaching air incursions, its island-building campaign and its rapidly expanding naval presence.  These upgrades and confrontations are not going without notice and are worrisome given President Xi’s promise at the 19^thCongress to make China a global military power. 

• Worst Obama legacy yet – trading America’s national security for an Iran nuclear legacy. Politicopublished a fascinating report about an ambitious U.S. task force targeting Iran’s terror proxy Hezbollah and was sidelined by the White House’s desire for a nuclear deal with Iran. This is very much a “deep state” story of intrigue and political manipulation by the Obama federal bureaucracy. Specifically, Project Cassandra was a $1 billion, 2008 Drug Enforcement Administration effort targeting Hezbollah’s drug and weapons trafficking, money laundering and other criminal activities.  The interagency effort traced the criminal conspiracy to the innermost circle of Hezbollah and its state sponsors in Tehran. However, that effort was sidelined by Obama officials who threw insurmountable roadblocks in its way. Even though Hezbollah delivered multi-tons of cocaine into the U.S. and undermined American interests globally, then Obama CIA director John Brennan insisted upon helping Hezbollah to gain more influence in Lebanon.  The end result of the Obama administration’s effort was to neuter Project Cassandra to curry favor with Tehran to embrace the 2015 nuclear agreement.[vi] Note:  ThePoliticopiece is long, complex but the allegation is clear: the Obama administration sacrificed America’s security/welfare in exchange for the Iran nuclear deal – the former president’s foreign policy legacy.  

• China-India enter troubled water dispute.  STRATFOR reports “The latest dispute between India and China is as murky as the water it's over. In October, the South China Morning Post reported that China had revived plans to build a 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) tunnel to divert water to Xinjiang province from the Yarlung Tsangpo River in southern Tibet and was testing the technique on a separate tunnel project. China denied that any such plans were underway. But when the Sang River then appeared muddier than normal in recent weeks and displayed elevated levels of iron, it struck a nerve in India. A local leader running for office in Arunachal Pradesh speculated that Chinese construction was responsible for the pollution, but he failed to provide evidence to back up his assertion and both Indian and Chinese leaders denied that China was responsible for the muddy waters. On Dec. 4, Indian Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said an earthquake that took place in mid-November could be responsible for changes to the river. Whether China is planning a diversion project or not and regardless of whether it is behind the most recent murky waters, the events have shown just how volatile transboundary rivers can be for the regional giants.”[vii]

Robert Maginnis