1. USA Today – Defense Secretary Jim Mattis blasted the Pentagon bureaucracy for “cavalier” spending in light of a recent report that showed as much as $28 million had been wasted in buying uniforms for the Afghan army, according to a memo obtained by USA TODAY. The report found that U.S. military officials have purchased the forest-camouflage uniforms since 2007 without testing their effectiveness, or accounting for the fact that just 2% of Afghanistan is covered by woods. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction also found that special tailoring boosted the cost of the uniforms, as did using a licensed camouflage pattern when free versions were at hand. The report will be the focus of a hearing by a panel of House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
2. CP – Somali-based terror group al-Shabaab killed seven Christians in a series of deadly raids in Kenya earlier this month where the Islamic radicals went door-to-door in villages looking for believers. Persecution watchdog group International Christian Concern reported on Monday that seven Christians were among the victims in the raids carried out by al-Shabaab between July 5–8, when the militants attacked the villages of Pandanguo, Jima, and Poromoko. Previous reports noted that the militants beheaded nine civilians in Jima in Lamu County in their hunt for non-Muslims, though more information is being released now about the victims.
3. NAACP – The NAACP, the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization, names vice chairman of the board of directors Derrick Johnson as interim president and CEO, effective immediately. The unanimous decision was made by the executive committee of the board of directors during the Association’s 108th annual convention in Baltimore, Maryland. The NAACP released the following statement. “I am thrilled to announce that my friend and colleague Derrick Johnson has been appointed to interim president and CEO. I could not think of a better, more battle-tested or more qualified individual to guide the NAACP through this transition period,” said Leon Russell, Board Chairman of the NAACP. “Derrick’s longtime service with the Association will allow him to take decisive action to deal with daily challenges. He will also serve as the primary spokesman for the NAACP. I have every confidence in Derrick and will support him in this new endeavor every step of the way .”
4. CP – Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is calling on the Trump administration to release a Guatemalan-born evangelical pastor who was detained during his appointment with an immigration officer on Monday in California. Noe Carias, who pastors an Assemblies of God church in Los Angeles and has a wife and two kids who are all United States citizens, is facing deportation after he was deemed “deportable” by immigration officials because of a deportation order dating back to 1995, according to his lawyer Noemi Ramirez. The Los Angeles Times reports that although Carias was granted two one-year stays in 2015 and 2016, Carias’ attempt for a third stay was denied earlier this year.
5. CP – Despite Perry Noble’s return to preaching after successfully completing rehab, leaders of NewSpring — South Carolina’s largest church — say their founder, who was fired from his job as senior pastor last July for alcohol abuse and other “unfortunate choices and decisions,” is still not biblically qualified to preach. “We have been asked why Perry can preach at other churches but not at NewSpring. We cannot speak for other churches and how they make decisions. For us, Perry currently does not meet the biblical qualifications of a pastor, teacher, shepherd,” NewSpring Teaching Pastor Clayton King told the megachurch in what was described as a family meeting last Friday. Noble returned to the pulpit in February with the blessing of his friend and confidante, Steven Furtick, just over seven months after he was fired by NewSpring. He has continued to preach at other churches, including most recently at Mission City Church in Florida.
6. AP – Two key members of President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign met Tuesday with congressional investigators probing Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump associates. Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner returned to Capitol Hill for a second day of private meetings, this time for a closed-door conversation with lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee. Separately, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort met with bipartisan staff of the Senate intelligence committee and “answered their questions fully,” his spokesman, Jason Maloni, said.
7. CP – A West Virginia pastor who has received threats and endured various other forms of harassment for voicing opposition to Facebook’s rainbow flag emoji has moved his family out of their home in Harpers Ferry after being advised by local police to do so because of safety concerns. As previously reported, Pastor Rich Penkoski, who runs the online ministry “Warriors for Christ,” has received an immense amount of backlash from LGBT advocates after the popular Warriors for Christ Facebook page vowed in June that anyone who posted the rainbow flag emoji on the page would be banned by its administrators. Penkoski told The Christian Post that he didn’t want the rainbow flag emoji on the “Warriors for Christ” page because it “is a pride symbol for homosexuality and we are a Christian ministry.”
As you go throughout this day, keep this word in mind: 2 Samuel 22:33 says, “God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.”
George Eliot said, “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
God loves you. He always has and He always will. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you don’t know Jesus as your Saviour, today is a good day to get to know Him. Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose from the dead for you. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart and He will. Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Thanks so much for listening and may God bless your day!
BCNN1 WP 