#428 (1/31) "...No Laughing Matter"

UPDATE AND CALL FOR  CONTINUED  PRAYER AND NEW ACTION, Jan. 28: After a short sham trial, Iran has convicted American Pastor Saeed Abedini – a U.S. citizen – and sentenced him to eight years in one of Iran's most brutal and deadly prisons – merely because he is a Christian.Iran has violated Pastor Saeed's human rights, violated its own constitution, and violated multiple international treaties and covenants that it voluntarily and willingly signed. At the ACLJ, we are mobilizing a domestic and international effort to pressure Iran to abide by its treaties and agreements. We are calling on the United Nations and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to directly intervene and demand Pastor Saeed's release.Morere than 250,000 of you signed our petition to ask the Obama Administration to intervene, and the White House and State Department responded. PLEASE CONTINUE PRAYING for him, his release and for his family AND  Sign this NEW petition to mobilize the international community. http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-from-iranian-prison-sentence

PLEASE CONSIDER:  I am participating in the annual fundraiser Walk for Lifeon Feb. 9 for a local pregnancy resource center that ministers to girls and women who might otherwise abort their baby. My goal is $213. If you can make a pledge of $10 or more, please go to http://www.razoo.com/story/Stan-M-Yonashiro, THANK YOU for whatever you can pledge. (I'd especially appreciate your prayers that I (and all the walkers) will meet my goal.)

REMINDER: If you didn't get a chance to check out this week's broadcast of "The Spiritual State of the Union," please go to www.truthinactioin.org and watch the 10 minute video of the special feature they had on the program for this week. Excellent look at what this past election indicated for our nation on social issues and the challenge before the Church. Please also encouage you friends to check it out.- Stan

"Happy 40th Anniversary, Baby - No Laughing Matter," - Eric Metaxas, Breakpoint.org, January 28

The online ad opens with a shot of an African American actor, Mehcad Brooks, sitting in a chair, holding a drink in one hand and a red rose in the other. And then he speaks directly to the camera.

“Oh, hey, baby, did you think I forgot? …. How could I forget our anniversary?”
The “anniversary” he’s referring to is the 40^th year of Roe v. Wade, of abortion on demand. Clearly this ad thinks that this is something to celebrate. As the actor puts it, “All these years so many people said we'd never make it. They've been trying to tear us apart. . . Put limits on you, on me, on us.” And then he roars with laughter. “We're going to be standing right by your side, today, tomorrow, and the years to come,” he promises. “Because that is how much you mean to me, baby.” And again, he roars with laughter.

When I first watched this ad, I thought, this HAS to be a spoof. It employs the ugly racial stereotype of a smooth-talking predator celebrating his freedom to use women at zero cost to himself: Hey, baby, hook up with me—and then go have an abortion. Are they kidding? No; this was no spoof. The ad was actually made by the Center for Reproductive Rights. And with this ad they’ve revealed more than they may have intended about why so many men want abortion to remain legal.

Ryan Scott Bomberger, an African-American pro-lifer who runs the Radiance Foundation, hit the nail on the head about this ad. “The Center for Reproductive Rights, like Planned Parenthood, certainly understands its main demographic,” he notes. “The fact that they use a black man just screams irony.” That’s because, as Bomberger says, “With the black abortion rate as high as it is and black fathers as absent as they are, it’s just sick to see Mehcad Brooks shill for the number-one killer in the black community.”

And of course, he's right. For the black community, abortion verges on genocide. It kills more black Americans than gun violence, cancer, AIDS, and heart disease combined. Abortion businesses target minority communities because they know there's money to be made. This may be a big reason why black women abort their babies at five times the rate of white women, according to the Guttmacher Institute. This means that black women who abort suffer higher rates of breast and cervical cancers—both linked to abortion--and from post-abortion trauma.

Alveda King, who’s the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a post-abortive mother, put these statistics in ghastly perspective: “[W]hat would Martin Luther King, Jr.,” she asked, “who dreamed of having his children judged by the content of their characters, do if he'd lived to see the contents of thousands of children's skulls emptied into the bottomless caverns of the abortionists' pits?” This is what the guy in this ad is celebrating: The slaughter of millions of babies, killed so that guys like this can enjoy sex without consequences to themselves.

But as millions of post-abortive women will tell you, the social and family pressures that drive women to abortion are no laughing matter. So God bless the thousands of Americans who marched on the Supreme Court last week in protest of the legal killing of innocent children. We should pray for their work, remembering the words of Paul in Ephesians: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” [Eph. 6:12]

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

PRAYER: "Heavenly Father, may you work in the lives of the members of the "Center for Reproductive Rights" and other pro-abortion groups in our country, that their eyes may be finally opened to and their hearts accept the horrible truth of what abortion does to not just the babies murdered but the women who they are supposedly speaking up . Pray that you strip away the false worldview and the lies that deceive them into believing and promoting the things they do. May Your TRUTH penetrate their hearts and cause them to come to a knowledge of You and come to embrace your Son as their Savior and Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen"

#427 (1/30) Brief Comments On Happenings In the News

 UPDATE AND CALL FOR  CONTINUED  PRAYER AND NEW ACTION, Jan. 28: After a short sham trial, Iran has convicted American Pastor Saeed Abedini – a U.S. citizen – and sentenced him to eight years in one of Iran's most brutal and deadly prisons – merely because he is a Christian.Iran has violated Pastor Saeed's human rights, violated its own constitution, and violated multiple international treaties and covenants that it voluntarily and willingly signed. At the ACLJ, we are mobilizing a domestic and international effort to pressure Iran to abide by its treaties and agreements. We are calling on the United Nations and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to directly intervene and demand Pastor Saeed's release. More than 250,000 of you signed our petition to ask the Obama Administration to intervene, and the White House and State Department responded.  PLEASE CONTINUE PRAYING for him, his release and for his family AND  Sign this NEW petition to mobilize the international community. http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-from-iranian-prison-sentence

REMINDER: If you didn't get a chance to check out this week's broadcast of "The Spiritual State of the Union," please go to www.truthinactioin.org and watch the 10 minute video of the special feature they had on the program for this week. Excellent look at what this past election indicated for our nation on social issues and the challenge before the Church. Please also encouage you friends to check it out.- Stan

PLEASE CONSIDER:  I am participating in the annual fundraiser Walk for Lifeon Feb. 9 for a local pregnancy resource center that ministers to girls and women who might otherwise abort their baby. My goal is $213. If you can make a pledge of $10 or more, please go to http://www.razoo.com/story/Stan-M-Yonashiro, THANK YOU for whatever you can pledge. (I'd especially appreciate your prayers that I (and all the walkers) will meet my goal.)

 "The Cliffhanger, Jan. 29," by John Hayward  http://www.humanevents.com/2013/01/29/the-cliffhanger-jan-29/  1/29/2013 

Ever since the language of the “fiscal cliff” was appropriated to describe the political battle over a tax increase, it’s become increasingly clear that every issue is a “cliff” now.  Here are today’s snapshots from the edge…

** Obama goes sightseeing at the immigration cliff: President Obama will blow a couple million taxpayer dollars flying out to Las Vegas for his big “comprehensive immigration reform” speech today, possibly to symbolize what a crap shoot the latest round of amnesty will be.  Also, he couldn’t fully enjoy his last trip to Sin City, because people kept bugging him about the Benghazi terrorist attack and his Administration’s inability to discuss it honestly.  The White House is emitting signals of friendly bipartisanship at the moment, which makes everyone familiar with the usual Obama modus operandi deeply suspicious.  An Administration official told Fox News that the Gang of Eight bipartisan agreement “is on a trajectory that mirrors Obama’s immigration plan almost exactly, and that the White House is willing to let the group take the lead.”

Sure they are… for as long as the result is internal Republican squabbling between today’s comprehensive reformers, and those who dwell upon how the last few comprehensive reforms worked out.  Once the image of saintly bipartisan cooperation is firmly established and the amnesty process is well under way, Obama’s “trajectory” (what a curious choice of words!) will suddenly and sharply diverge from the Republican reformers’, and the latter will be called evil for refusing to go along with whatever unacceptable giveaway Obama inserts in the heat of the next election cycle.  There’s no way Obama is going to let this end with Marco Rubio taking a bow before cheering throngs of “provisional” citizens, folks.

** Egyptian defense minister warns the state could collapse: Well, it could.  And given the importance of the Egyptian military as a source of political stability, it’s not good when the top army official talks like this.  Riots continue unabated despite dictator Mohammed Morsi’s declaration of a month-long state of emergency in several cities.  The military refuses to enforce the curfew Morsi imposed.  The increasingly rebellious city of Port Said has its own flag now.

** Sequestration is happening: “Chances are growing that the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts that no one thought would ever happen may soon take effect,” says CNN, nicely capturing the sense of bemused wonder spreading across Washington as it realizes spending might actually be cut.  This is a shock roughly on par with the feeling Dr. Alan Grant experienced when he looked up from his study of a curious plant at John Hammond’s new theme park, and noticed a brontosaurus standing over him.  Sure, it’s only a paltry $1.2 trillion over 10 years, but on the bright side CNN reports “the White House budget office has instructed federal agencies to plan to operate at lower funding levels,” which is something they should get used to.  The White House has been telling the private sector to operate at lower funding levels for years.

** Iran imprisons another Christian pastor, disappointing the Obama Administration: The Iranian theocracy doesn’t feel good about itself unless it has a Christian pastor or two tucked away in its dungeons.  This time it’s Saeed Abedini, sentenced to eight years in the hellish Evin “University” political prison for the crime of threatening Iran’s national security by not being a Muslim any more.  Also, he was threatening to build an orphanage, where the children probably would not have received the recommended daily allowance of beatings.  In accordance with the highest traditions of the Iranian justice system, Pastor Abedini and his lawyer were allowed to attend some of his trial.  Abedini is an American citizen who lives in Idaho, so you would think his imprisonment would outrage that great champion of religious liberty, President Barack Obama.  But Obama has been completely silent, while spokespeople for the National Security Council and State Department said they were “deeply disappointed” and “deeply concerned,” respectively. ...

** Hurricane pork passes Senate: Our long national nightmare of fiscal restraint is over, as the Senate voted 62-36 on Monday night to pass a $50 billion Hurricane Sandy relief bill, $17 billion of which arguably had something to do with relief for Hurricane Sandy.  The rest was a pork-barrel shopping list.  Touchingly, there was even money for the federal government’s favorite useless nostalgic money sink, Head Start.  ”It is not perfect, but it is a very sound bill.  Let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the good,” said Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), whose Party is never going to let common sense be the enemy of spending money.  Sure, this bill spends almost all of the money from President Obama’s tax hikes for the coming year, but fully a third of it will go toward the nominal purpose of the bill.  That’s close enough for government work.

[bold AND italicized phrases are MY emphasis]

#426 (1/29) "What Exactly Is an Assault Weapon?"

 UPDATE AND CALL FOR  CONTINUED  PRAYER AND NEW ACTION, Jan. 28: After a short sham trial, Iran has convicted American Pastor Saeed Abedini – a U.S. citizen – and sentenced him to eight years in one of Iran's most brutal and deadly prisons – merely because he is a Christian.Iran has violated Pastor Saeed's human rights, violated its own constitution, and violated multiple international treaties and covenants that it voluntarily and willingly signed. At the ACLJ, we are mobilizing a domestic and international effort to pressure Iran to abide by its treaties and agreements. We are calling on the United Nations and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to directly intervene and demand Pastor Saeed's release.
More than 250,000 of you signed our petition to ask the Obama Administration to intervene, and the White House and State Department responded. Take action. PLEASE CONTINUE PRAYING for his release AND  Sign this NEW petition to mobilize the international community. http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-from-iranian-prison-sentence

REMINDER: If you didn't get a chance to check out this week's broadcast of "The Spiritual State of the Union," please go to www.truthinactioin.org and watch the 10 minute video of the special feature they had on the program for this week. Excellent look at what this past election indicated for our nation on social issues and the challenge before the Church. Please also encouage you friends to check it out.- Stan

REQUEST: I am participating in the annual fundraiser Walk for Lifeon Feb. 9 for a local pregnancy resource center that ministers to girls and women who might otherwise abort their baby. My goal is $213. If you can make a pledge of $10 or more, please reply to this email. Thank you.

"What Exactly Is an Assault Weapon?," - By Lee Webb, CBN News Anchor, January 17, 2013, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2013/January/What-Exactly-Is-an-Assault-Weapon/

 For the average person, there's a misconception about what exactly assault weapons are."When I hear assault rifle, I think fully automatic or something like that," one person told CBN News. "You just pull the trigger and it continues to go, something like that," another person said.

They're not alone. Several people CBN News spoke with believe there's no difference between the fully automatic weapons our soldiers and marines use in Afghanistan and the assault weapon the gunman used in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The fact they look identical may add to the confusion. But there is one very important difference.

CBN Chief of Security Chris Mitchell took CBN News Anchor Lee Webb to the range to demonstrate.

"The difference is in the fact that this weapon only shoots in a semi-automatic fashion... meaning it shoots one round for every trigger pull," Mitchell explained. [He]explained the military version of the same weapon has the capability of shooting more than one round with a trigger pull. "So as fast as you can pull the trigger is as fast as you're gonna shoot," he said about the kind of weapon used at Sandy Hook.

Each time the gunman pulls the trigger, only one round fires, which is no different from a semi-automatic pistol or even a 22-caliber target rifle. To be sure, this weapon has more power and a longer range than this pistol. You can see the difference between the ammunition.

However, it is important to note that the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007 was the deadliest shooting spree in U.S. history by a single gunman. And he didn't use an assault weapon. All he had were two semi-automatic pistols."So do you believe that putting a ban on these so-called assault weapons will prevent another Newtown massacre?" Webb asked Mitchell. "I honestly don't believe that that's going to make any difference," Mitchell said. "Law-abiding citizens that own these respect the weapons. That's why we buy weapons." "But anyone that has a desire to hurt people are gonna use whatever they can get their hands on to do so," he said. "So banning these is not going to make any significant difference."

#425 (1/28) "Responding to Newtown" - Looking Past the Emotions

UGENT CALL FOR PRAYER AND ACTION: Update 1/28 - Pastor Saeed Abidini, an American imprisoned in Iran for his faith, was sentenced Sunday to eight years in prison . He will serve his time in Evin Prison, known as one of the most brutal.... – "likely facing life-threatening torture and abuse at the hands of the Iranian regime. Simply because of his Christian faith.” ...Pastor Saeed and his attorney were permitted to attend just one day of his trial, which began January 21st. They were barred from attending and participating in further proceedings. During his imprisonment, Pastor Saeed has been beaten and tortured raising serious concerns about his medical condition. [His] conviction and sentence in the Iranian Revolutionary Court had to be approved at the very top – The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei had to sign off.. The ACLJ has been working with the U.S. Government and at the United Nations to generate support for Pastor Saeed. Both the White House and teh U.S. State Department have condemned Iran and called for Pastor Saeed’s release....Pastor Saeed, 32, was granted U.S. citizenship in 2010 through marriage to his American wife. He and his wife, Naghmeh, have two children, a 6-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son. In 2008, [he] became an ordained minister with the American Evangelistic Association. Naghmeh and the children reside in the western United States. The Iranian government does not recognize his U.S. citizenship and for three years he travelled freely back and forth from Iran [assisting the house churches] until this summer when he was put under house arrest. He was imprisoned in  September."
(http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/January/American-Pastor-Jailed-in-Iran-Sentenced-to-8-Years/)  Please keep Pastor Saeed and his family in  PRAYER and SIGN THE PETITION with almost 200,000 others to ask for his release >  http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-iranian-abuse-imprisonment

"Responding to Newtown," - by Amy Payne On January 18, 2013 \

When confronted with the murder of children, the only reaction is anger, shock, and grief. Since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, America has been reeling.

We want to protect our fellow Americans, our families, and ourselves. We want to understand the causes of violence and meet the challenges before they turn into tragedies. On this, we can all agree.

To be effective, the response to Newtown cannot be a hasty “Do something—anything” response. That’s why Heritage experts have taken the time to consider the complex problems involved.
In a new report ^[1], senior legal fellow John Malcolm and director of domestic policy studies Jennifer Marshall acknowledge: ''The serious work to make society safer and stronger after events like the December 2012 Newtown massacre requires that constitutional and complex cultural factors be taken into consideration and that policy be based on a serious study of all of the evidence." Their report unpacks that statement, bringing key principles into each of the issues.

Constitutional concerns. Malcolm and Marshall write: “The constitutional right to keep and bear arms is an individual right that is fundamental to a free society, which depends, ultimately, on personal responsibility.” The Second Amendment is a safeguard for liberty and security, and Americans’ right to keep and bear arms has been upheld by the Supreme Court. Any policy must be consistent with the Constitution.

Complex cultural factors. All individuals need to be known and cared for in relationships—a family, a neighborhood, a circle of friends, a house of worship or other community group. This is essential to thriving as a human being. The family especially shapes a person’s experience deeply. If that first community of security breaks down, it is important that others in these circles of support step in to help. Malcolm and Marshall point to transformative programs led by community leaders who are directly impacting gang violence, at-risk adolescents, and struggling families.Federal policy responses to such intensely personal issues would be unwise. A national, one-size-fits-all prescription is not the answer. From school security to mental illness, these issues are best handled at the most local and personalized level possible.

Policy based on evidence. Any policy response should be based on factual research. As Malcolm and Marshall note, gun control laws do not correlate with decreased violence, and gun ownership does not correlate with increased violence. “If gun control were a panacea, then Washington, D.C., Oakland, and Chicago, which have very strict gun control laws, would be among the safest places to live rather than among the most dangerous.”We also have evidence that severe, untreated mental illness is frequently a characteristic of mass killers—and that federal involvement in mental health services has not worked well. The authors conclude: “Given the weak track record of federal mental health programs, states should exercise primary responsibility for determining appropriate mental health services, which will entail eliminating restrictions currently imposed by the federal government.”

As the White House continues to roll out details of its plans, it is important to remember, as Malcolm and Marshall put it, that “Not all problems can be solved with government action, and if government action is required, any federal action, including executive orders, should be consistent with our federal system of government, respect for state sovereignty, and the separation of powers.” They also have this message for Members of Congress: “[E]motional appeals cannot be the sole basis for action. Policymakers should avoid a rush to judgment on prescriptions that violate first principles, that ignore the real root of these complex problems, or that disregard careful social science research.”

There is no simple solution to the problem of violence. And there is no immediate antidote to the anguish of those who lost loved ones in Newtown. We must make sure that in the days to come, we exercise sober judgment.

[bold AND italicized portions MY emphasis]

Read the report:“The Newtown Tragedy: Complex Causes Require Thoughtful Analysis and Responses ^[1]” By John Malcolm and Jennifer A. Marshall

---

Article printed from The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation: http://blog.heritage.org;URL
to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/01/18/morning-bell-responding-to-newtown/URLs in this post:

[1] new report: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/01/the-newtown-tragedy-complex-causes-require-thoughtful-analysis-and-responses

.

Copyright © 2011 The Heritage Foundation. All rights reserved.

#424 (1/27) SUNDAY SPECIAL - ''Does “Gospel-Centrality” Mean Christians Don’t Protest or Get Frustrated?''

URGENT CALL for PRAYER AND ACTION - 1/25 UPDATE: ''American Pastor Saeed's sham trial in Iran began on Monday. Iran claims that his conversion to Christianity and work in house churches politically undermines the Islamic Republic. His Iranian attorney, who had less than 24 hours to prepare, strongly argued that Pastor Saeed's faith did not threaten Iran's national security. This was Pastor Saeed's only day to present a defense, and his father was the only family member allowed at trial. On Tues., Iran violated American Pastor Saeed's most basic human rights by barring him and his attorney from a trial that could lead to his death. Iran forced fellow Christians to testify against Pastor Saeed and told one witness to prepare to testify again in a month. Despite the promises from the "hanging judge" trying his case that Saeed would be released on bail and a sentence could be expected next week, Iran has denied bail and Saeed remains in jail. On Thurs., he was suddenly said to have been transferred to another part of the prison, but he now cannot be located.  Demand the U.S. State Department speak out against this ongoing atrocity and demand Pastor Saeed's immediate. (The U.S. State Department's response has been abysmal; it has failed to demand this American citizen's release.)... There is still time to speak out and call for international pressure on Iran. We must not be silent. Please keep this pastor in PRAYER and SIGN THE PETITION with almost 200,000 others to ask for his release >  http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-iranian-abuse-imprisonment

NOTE: I came across the followng statement in an artcle about the March for Life Rally in Washington, D.C. "As Friday's overwhelmingly Christian crowd came to march, they knew abortion is as much a problem in the Church as out. AbortionDocs.org reported that 65 percent of women getting abortion say they're Christians, with 37 percent of them Protestant and 28 percent Catholic." It is as shocking to me as having a pastor I talked to say almost casually that he was meeting with several couples in his church who were considering getting abortions! What a sad example of how too often we in the church today are as much of the world in our thinking as we are in the world. We know something is wrong - even murdering our own children - but we still contemplate doing it! Explains so much why revival will not come until THE CHURCH fulfills the admonition of 2 Chron. 7:14. - Stan]   

 REQUEST: I am participating in the annual fundraiser Walk for Lifeon Feb. 9 for a local pregnancy resource center that ministers to girls and women who might otherwise abort their baby. My goal is $213. If you can make a pledge of $10 or more, please email me at yonashiro@bellsouth.net. Thank you.]

REMINDER: “Truth That Transforms” (In Cen. FL, 5 pm, ch. 55.1; Mon. 7 pm. Ch. 52.2) speaks about ‘The Spiritual State of Our Nation” and the Christian response. On the web at www.truthinaction.org )

''Does “Gospel-centrality” Mean Christians Don’t Protest or Get Frustrated?'' - 1/14/13

-by ostrachan http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtlife/2013/01/does-gospel-centrality-mean-christians-dont-protest-or-get-frustrated/  [This article refers to the pastor stepping down from praying at the recent inauguration because of his BIBLICAL refutation of homosexualty years ago.I beleve it speaks well to how Chrsitans should respondl. Great food for thought. - Stan] 

In light of the Louie Giglio fiasco [see post #413], some evangelicals have argued that Christians need to cheer up and trust God. It’s always true that we need to trust God. I was encouraged, for example, by the content Jared Wilson posted on this subject (Jared always encourages me with his Christ-driven material). Our Trinitarian God can never be thwarted. He is sovereign and unstoppable. Jesus will return for us. These are the truths that inspire, comfort, and embolden us.

There has been a bit of commentary from some of my brothers that I’ve wondered about, though. I fully agree that God is in charge and that we don’t need to fear man. But some, like my friend Matthew Anderson, have made the Giglio fallout sound as if it’s not really a big deal. Others have indicated it might even be losing sight of God’s goodness and grace to protest a sitting president apparently barring a Christian pastor from praying due to biblical convictions. Such protests, some would say, mean that we’re not gripping the gospel and its glorious promises tightly enough.

Well, that is a good caution. Our hope is not in politics or a place at the political table. I agree in an ultimate sense. Let that be said, and felt. But I would say this to my friends: being “gospel-centered” does not mean that we don’t grieve and protest against sin and injustice. If that’s what we construe it to mean, I wonder if we’re missing certain parts of Scripture. Yes, knowing God means living joyfully in a grim world. But let’s not forget the hard parts of Scripture, and the difficult times. After all, if we’re talking about godly people who responded to trial with great sorrow and also conviction, the list would include:

• Jesus, who wept at Lazarus’s death (John 11) and shook with bloody sweat before his death (Luke 22:44)
• Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet,” who mourned the moral compromises of Israel and the domination of evil Babylon
• Paul, who when facing imperial sanction frankly did not embrace immediate death and did not silence himself as Jesus did, but appealed brilliantly to his Roman citizenship (Acts 22, and also 23-28)
• Job, who responded to the death of his family with abject sorrow (Job 1)
• Moses, who with the Israelites did not suffer the persecution of the Egyptians lightly, but protested to Pharoah of his treatment of God’s people (remember that God himself sends Moses to battle with Pharoah) (Exodus 4-13)

This is quite a list, as one can see. It could go on. There is clearly a major place in Christian faith for responding to trials and persecution with a) grief and anger and b) godly agency that can involve standing up for one’s rights. We tend to think of Acts (the Bible?) in apolitical terms, but we might forget that the entire last fourth of the book has Paul in official political settings, defending himself and his rights even as he fearlessly proclaims the gospel of Christ. There’s something in Acts 21-28 that we must not miss. Why do I say this? Because Paul clearly did not interpret his capture as righteous, good, or necessitating silence. He appealed not only to his own personal innocence in the matters at hand, but his Roman citizenship. That is instructive for us. Jesus opened not his mouth before his death, but Jesus had a different situation than Paul (and us). He knew that it was best for him to die for the sake of his people; we do not possess the same surety.

The early church practiced this same courage. Justin Martyr appealed to the emperor to stop persecuting Christians, to give just one famous example. Surely, many embraced martyrdom when it came, as should we if it comes (in fact, martyrdom became super-spiritualized, which was problematic). But we err, I think, if we see persecution as light and glancing. It is not. The government bearing down on believers is worthy of time, attention, protest, argument, defense of innocence, bold declaration of conscience, and assertion of the rights of citizenship. If we miss this, I fear that we who love Paul’s theology are missing Paul’s example.

Let’s be clear: the Bible does not commend us losing our minds over persecution. To the contrary, we’re fearless. We are ready to die for Christ (see Hebrews 11, which is just awesome on this point). But neither does the Bible commend a kind of imperturbable equanimity in light of suffering, persecution, and the usurpation of our rights. The biblical heroes descended into pits of anguish over sin and suffering. The biblical leaders defended themselves vigorously, knowing like Moses did that God himself was behind their call for justice.

We who love the gospel should feel absolutely no shame, then, when waves of grief pass over us. It is right in terrible times to mourn. Being Christ-centered, in fact, means that we mourn as he did–fully and without inhibition. You don’t have to go to the funeral of a believer and smile through it all. It’s not wrong to cry. It’s right, I think, to weep. Something is functioning rightly if you do.

In addition, we should feel no shame in protesting evil and mistreatment. Whether we’re thinking of Moses, Paul, or others, it is profoundly right to do so. Before he quieted himself on his way to death, Jesus declared his absolute innocence and moral rightness before Pilate (John 18:33-38). Christians must speak up when attacked. If we do not, our public witness will be endangered; if our public witness is endangered, then the gospel may well be silenced. It is right to meet even smaller-scale challenges with Mosaic and Pauline boldness.

Christians don’t care about losing power. We’re not afraid of no longer being political kingmakers. We care about being free to speak truth so that lost souls can find the grace of God shed through the cross of Christ. It is not wrong to speak up. It is right to do so. And it is not wrong to grieve. In fact, in a fallen world, to be truly Christlike, we must do so.

But even in justifiably deep sadness, we grieve with much greater hope, because Jesus is returning, and he will right every wrong. He will end the need for self-defense and consummate a kingdom of righteousness in a world of love (1 Cor 15, Rev 20).

[bold AND italicized portions are MINE]

#423 (1/26) "Obama Radicalism Revealed"

URGENT CALL for PRAYER AND ACTION - 1/25 UPDATE: ''American Pastor Saeed's sham trial in Iran began on Monday. Iran claims that his conversion to Christianity and work in house churches politically undermines the Islamic Republic. His Iranian attorney, who had less than 24 hours to prepare, strongly argued that Pastor Saeed's faith did not threaten Iran's national security. This was Pastor Saeed's only day to present a defense, and his father was the only family member allowed at trial. On Tues., Iran violated American Pastor Saeed's most basic human rights by barring him and his attorney from a trial that could lead to his death. Iran forced fellow Christians to testify against Pastor Saeed and told one witness to prepare to testify again in a month. Despite the promises from the "hanging judge" trying his case that Saeed would be released on bail and a sentence could be expected next week, Iran has denied bail and Saeed remains in jail. On Thurs., he was suddenly said to have been transferred to another part of the prison, but he now cannot be located.  Demand the U.S. State Department speak out against this ongoing atrocity and demand Pastor Saeed's immediate. (The U.S. State Department's response has been abysmal; it has failed to demand this American citizen's release.)... There is still time to speak out and call for international pressure on Iran. We must not be silent. Please keep this pastor in PRAYER and SIGN THE PETITION with almost 200,000 others to ask for his release >  http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-iranian-abuse-imprisonment

"House Passes Plan to Extend Debt Limit to May 19" - "Passage came after an hour-long floor debate in which GOP leaders cast the bill as something that would finally drag the Senate into a debate over fiscal policy that it has long ignored." http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=1092 As the Lord leads, please pray:

• That passage by the Senate and signing by President Obama will give Congress the time it needs to work on a real debt ceiling plan involving spending cuts.
• That because of this bill, the Senate will finally be forced to consider REAL spending cuts.

 "Obama’s Radicalism Revealed," by Matthew Spalding, Ph.D. Jan. 23 http://blog.heritage.org/2013/01/23/barack-obama-radicalism-revealed/?roi=echo3-14337194625-11107441-05e0adc7617c4bfca15b19af8e98fc14&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell[Go to this website to find more info on the portions below that are underlined}

It’s only Day 3 and the Obama Administration already feels old and tired. Year in and year out, the President keeps saying the same things. Over and over again. By this point, we’re tempted to simply tune him out. But that would be a mistake.

From the very beginning, President Obama said how he wanted to transform the country. We must “pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America,” he declared in his first inaugural address. Even before that, “The great thing about America,” candidate Barack Obama had said in one of his speeches, “is that everything changes.” At the time, Heritage called for a reborn conservatism grounded in the abiding principles of American liberty, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, and worked to make the 2012 election a clarifying debate over these opposing views.

President Obama’s second inaugural address should be read in this light, as the grand statement of his plan to change America. If there was ever any doubt, it is now clear that he means to not only lock in all of the failed accomplishments of liberalism but also to revive a new wave of progressivism akin to those of Wilson, FDR, and LBJ—only greater, in true Obama fashion.

In his speech, Obama uses many conservative phrases to cloak his intentions and wraps his project in the mantle of the Founding. But we mustn’t be fooled. He deploys those words to serve his own brand of progressive radicalism—and radical it is.

America is exceptional because it is dedicated to the universal principles of human liberty: That all are fundamentally equal and equally endowed with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our government exists to secure these God-given rights, deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed. Our Constitution limits the power of government, creating a vigorous framework for expanding economic opportunity, protecting national independence, and securing liberty and justice for all.

Obama has a different objective: To complete the progressive transformation of America and define its next phase—which he laid out in his Osawatomie, Kansas, speech mimicking Teddy Roosevelt—through more complicated and extensive government regulation of society and the redistribution of wealth and benefits to produce “fair” outcomes.This is an updated—and far more dangerous—version of the one developed 100 years ago by Woodrow Wilson, the father of modern progressivism. Wilson sought to replace the old Constitution of individual rights and the separation of powers with an evolving, “living Constitution” of growing and virtually unlimited powers.

Obama aims instead to redefine them entirely. “We have always understood that when times change, so must we, that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges, that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action,” Obama said Monday. In other words, all things change, and our principles must change as well. Obama wants to reframe the Founding away from its emphasis on the unalienable rights we hold over government to an emphasis on government as the collective expression (and regulator) of everything we do, and the central expression (in the form of President Obama) of the call of history. And today, that call he hears is for government to redefine marriage and heal the planet.

This is not the meaning of America, not as expressed by our Founders. It’s not the great self-governing constitutionalism of Lincoln, to whom Obama alludes and compares himself. It is not even the promissory note expressed by Martin Luther King, the note to which every American was to fall heir.
No, this is something altogether different—an argument in which “Forward!” is actually movement backwards, away from America’s principles toward a world in which nothing is permanent, our rights are not secure, and government is unlimited.

“About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful,” wrote Calvin Coolidge on the 150th birthday of the Declaration.

''It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress.''

“Every American,” Coolidge added, “can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken.” Over the next four years, it will be our job to make certain they remain so.

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

#422 (1/25) What the President REALLY Said In His Inaurgual Speech

URGENT CALL for PRAYER AND ACTION - 1/25 UPDATE: ''American Pastor Saeed's sham trial in Iran began on Monday. Iran claims that his conversion to Christianity and work in house churches politically undermines the Islamic Republic. His Iranian attorney, who had less than 24 hours to prepare, strongly argued that Pastor Saeed's faith did not threaten Iran's national security. This was Pastor Saeed's only day to present a defense, and his father was the only family member allowed at trial. On Tues., Iran violated American Pastor Saeed's most basic human rights by barring him and his attorney from a trial that could lead to his death. Iran forced fellow Christians to testify against Pastor Saeed and told one witness to prepare to testify again in a month. Despite the promises from the "hanging judge" trying his case that Saeed would be released on bail and a sentence could be expected next week, Iran has denied bail and Saeed remains in jail. On Thurs., he was suddenly said to have been transferred to another part of the prison, but he now cannot be located.  Demand the U.S. State Department speak out against this ongoing atrocity and demand Pastor Saeed's immediate. (The U.S. State Department's response has been abysmal; it has failed to demand this American citizen's release.)... There is still time to speak out and call for international pressure on Iran. We must not be silent. Please keep this pastor in PRAYER and SIGN THE PETITION with almost 200,000 others to ask for his release >  http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-iranian-abuse-imprisonment

''Marching for Life;'' -by Sarah Torre, January 25, 2013, http://blog.heritage.org/2013/01/25/march-for-life-2013-a-pro-life-generation/print/?roi=echo3-14355892304-11124846-1291348b54f80f2c5e1861f172f37059&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

"Later today, hundreds of thousands of people will descend on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life.Crowds are expected to exceed ^[1] last year’s 400,000 participants, to walk a now-familiar route to the steps of the Supreme Court to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ^[2] decision that, along with an accompanying ruling in Doe v. Bolton ^[3], legalized abortion-on-demand across the United States.The official theme of this year’s march is “40 = 55M ^[4].” It’s an equation meant to reflect the enormous cost ^[5] of 40 years under the ethic of Roe: Since the Supreme Court’s decision in 1973, an estimated 55 million abortions have been performed..."

''Today, roughly half ^[8] of Americans now identify themselves as “pro-life,” including many of the millennial generation who will make up the crowds at today’s march. More than 100 pro-life laws ^[9] have been passed in states across the country since 2010, including parental notification, informed consent, and abortion clinic regulation legislation. Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life ^[10], which is leading the legal defense of life, notes ^[11]: 'There is a rising tide across this country of pro-life legislators who are picking up the flag and advancing the defense of life in law.'"

"...as then-President Ronald Reagan wrote ^[18] in 1986:

'Respect for the sanctity of human life has not died in America. Far from it. With every passing year it shines ever more brightly in the hearts of more and more of our citizens as they come to see the issue with greater clarity in all of its dimensions. As we carry this message to our courts, our legislatures, and our fellow citizens, let us never be discouraged. … May we soon rejoice in the day when reverence for human life is enshrined as surely in our laws as in our hearts.''

[bold and italics emphasis mine; for more on things underlined, go to website link above]

PRAYER FOR THE PRESIDENT: Heavenly Father, I pray for the President as I do for all our leaders, that they would know you as their personal Savior and Lord, that the policies they put in place will reflect a Bibllical worldview, that all policies will only MOST EFFECTIVELY promote the welfare and security of our nation, that none would do harm in any way to Americans now and in generations to come. I pray that any policies which do not do so will be effectively opposed and defeated. Thank you for those who are commited to only doing what is right for our country, that you will cause them to prosper and their numbers to be increased. In the name of our sovereign God and the Lord Jesus, Amen. - Stan

"Obama’s Second Inaugural Address, Translated;" by Amy Payne,  January 22, 2013

Members of Congress—who are about to debate raising the debt ceiling tomorrow—should have paid attention yesterday. The President was very clear that he sees no urgency about reducing the debt and cutting the deficit. In fact, in his second inaugural address, President Barack Obama was honest about his intentions to grow government in order to remake our country along his progressive vision.

To sell his agenda, the President borrowed imagery and terminology from America’s first principles. But he twisted the American founding idea of “We the people” into the liberal “It takes a village.” His rhetoric on the issues only thinly disguised his true meaning. Let’s translate some of his key points.

Obama on “we the people”: “For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future. Or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores.”
Translation: In case you didn’t hear me the first time, you didn’t build that ^[1]. He may have surrounded these words with lip service to the Constitution and America’s promise of freedom, but the President revisited his core message here: It takes a taxpayer-subsidized village to build things. According to his philosophy, entrepreneurs don’t create jobs—the government does.

Obama on the fiscal crisis: “We, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it….We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.”
Translation: I will continue to push for more tax increases instead of reforming Medicare and Social Security. On this point, the President followed up his promise that he will not negotiate on the debt ceiling by digging in his heels on taxes and entitlement programs. The “hard choices” he refers to on health care and the deficit are more tax increases—because he “reject[s] the belief” that entitlements must be reformed ^[2] if they are going to stay around for the next generation.

The debt limit showdown continues this week: The House ...[voted on Wed.] ..[to approve] a plan that [will] extend the debt ceiling for three months while forcing Congress—specifically, the Senate—to pass a budget. If they do not pass a budget by April 15 under this plan, Members of Congress would stop getting paid. If House Republicans so much as blink, the President and his allies will steamroll them.

Obama on green energy: “We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But American cannot resist this transition.”
Translation: I will continue to increase regulations on the energy sources we use and throw taxpayer money into “green” energy companies. Despite the ever-growing Green Graveyard ^[3] of companies like Solyndra that took taxpayer money only to go bankrupt, the President clings to this unworkable and expensive policy. And his linking of climate change to “more powerful storms” points to a renewed push for policies like a carbon tax ^[4] to punish people for using energy—a policy that would harm the economy and produce no tangible environmental benefits.

Obama on foreign policy: “We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war….We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully. Not because we are naive about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.”
Translation: The terrorists are on the run, and I still think we can negotiate with nuclear bullies like Iran. Even as Obama pulls troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the hostage crisis in Algeria shows that al-Qaeda ^[5] is alive and well. Though Iran continues to rebuff international inspectors ^[6] and basically do whatever it wants, Obama seems perpetually optimistic that more talks with this hostile regime—and others like it—could make them change their behavior.The President said yesterday that “fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges.” Though the plans he laid out are not new, they definitely require a response if we are to preserve the founding principles we cherish, including our individual right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Congress has been warned, and by the President no less, that he is in no mood to compromise. If they give in, a liberal agenda like we’ve never known before will be implemented, while needed reforms to our entitlement programs will not take place. Holding the line is more important now than ever.

[phrases in bold AND italics emphasis are mine]

Quick Hits:

• President Obama isn’t the only one focused on spending money on global warming. The World Economic Forum is looking at a plan for a $14 trillion “greening” ^[7] of the global economy.
• Today marks the 40^th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision in the Supreme Court that legalized abortion. Since then, more than 55 million babies ^[8] have been aborted.
• Taxes are so high in France ^[10] now that former president Nicolas Sarkozy is reportedly thinking about moving to England.
• Only 30 percent of Americans agree with President Obama’s demand to raise the debt ceiling without addressing spending ^[11] at the same time.

---

Article printed from The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation: http://blog.heritage.org
URL to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/01/22/obama-second-inaugural-address-translated/
URLs in this post:

[1] you didn’t build that: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/07/16/morning-bell-obama-tells-entrepreneurs-you-didnt-build-your-business/

[2] entitlements must be reformed: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/11/six-bipartisan-entitlement-reforms-to-solve-the-real-fiscal-crisis-only-presidential-leadership-is-needed

[3] Green Graveyard: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/11/05/green-graveyard-19-taxpayer-funded-failures/

[4] carbon tax: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/01/carbon-tax-would-raise-unemployment-not-revenue

[5] al-Qaeda: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/01/18/algeria-crisis-confirms-al-qaeda-not-on-the-run/

[6] rebuff international inspectors: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/12/15/obama-administration-prepares-to-resume-nuclear-talks-with-iran-as-congress-ratchets-up-sanctions/

[7] $14 trillion “greening”: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/davos-call-for-14trn-greening--of-global-economy-8460994.html

[8] 55 million babies: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765620782/After-40-years-Roe-v-Wades-legacy-is-deep-divide-across-US.html

[10] Taxes are so high in France: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2266331/Nicolas-Sarkozy-Carla-Bruni-dodge-new-French-tax-hike-moving-London-setting-1billion-fund.html

[11] raise the debt ceiling without addressing spending: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/01/21/chart-of-the-week-each-americans-share-of-publicly-held-debt-is-skyrocketing/

Copyright © 2011 The Heritage Foundation. All rights reserved.

#421 (1/24) MLK - More Conservatives Than Our Schools Teach

URGENT CALL for PRAYER AND ACTION - 1/23 UPDATE: ''American Pastor Saeed's sham trial in Iran began on Monday. Iran claims that his conversion to Christianity and work in house churches politically undermines the Islamic Republic. His Iranian attorney, who had less than 24 hours to prepare, strongly argued that Pastor Saeed's faith did not threaten Iran's national security. This was Pastor Saeed's only day to present a defense, and his father was the only family member allowed at trial. On Tues., Iran violated American Pastor Saeed's most basic human rights by barring him and his attorney from a trial that could lead to his death. Iran forced fellow Christians to testify against Pastor Saeed and told one witness to prepare to testify again in a month. Despite the promises from the "hanging judge" trying his case that Saeed would be released on bail and a sentence could be expected next week, Iran has denied bail and Saeed remains in jail. Demand the U.S. State Department speak out against this ongoing atrocity and demand Pastor Saeed's immediate. (The U.S. State Department's response has been abysmal; it has failed to demand this American citizen's release.)... There is still time to speak out and call for international pressure on Iran. We must not be silent. Please keep this in PRAYER and SIGN THE PETITION with almost 200,000 others to ask for his release >  http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-iranian-abuse-imprisonment

Sec. Clinton Testifies About Bengazi Attack On Libyan Embassy:
 As the Lord leads, please pray:     

• That the truth of what happened WILL come forth and ALL who allowed it to happened would be held accountable.
• For the EFFECTIVE protection of all of America’s diplomat corps wherever they are serving.
• For adequate funding to secure the safety of our ambassadors and consuls, and for the wise use of funds allocated to the State Department.

Athiest Group Seeks End To Use of the Bible in Inaugration: Spokeswoman for "Securlar Coalition for America" said: "I think you’ll see us move away in the United States from feeling like God has to be mentioned in everything and anything." She sees a bit of that momentum, however slowly, in the current president." As the Lord leads, please pray:

• For a strong return to the values and faith that has made and kept America great. ("Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Psalm 33:12).
• That the true intentions of secular and atheist groups in America will be understood. 
• For a spiritual awakening and revival across our country. (2 Chron. 7:14)

"King's Dream - The Good Society and the Moral Law;" - by: Chuck Colson [A commentary from yeas ago re-presented.]|January 21, 2013, http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries

More than forty years ago, on August 28, 1963, a quarter million people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial. They marched here for the cause of civil rights. And that day they heard Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, a speech in which he challenged America to fulfill her promise.
“I have a dream,” he said, “that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.’ ”

While we know of the speech, most people are unaware that King also penned one of the most eloquent defenses of the moral law: the law that formed the basis for his speech, for the civil rights movement, and for all of the law, for that matter.

In the spring of 1963, King was arrested for leading a series of massive non-violent protests against the segregated lunch counters and discriminatory hiring practices rampant in Birmingham, Alabama. While in jail, King received a letter from eight Alabama ministers. They agreed with his goals, but they thought that he should call off the demonstrations and obey the law. King explained why he disagreed in his famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail. “One might well ask,” he wrote, “how can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer “is found in the fact that there are two kinds of laws: just laws … and unjust laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws,” King said, “but conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”

How does one determine whether the law is just or unjust? A just law, King wrote, “squares with the moral law of the law of God. An unjust law ... is out of harmony with the moral law.” Then King quoted Saint Augustine: “An unjust law is no law at all.” He quoted Thomas Aquinas: “An unjust law is a human law not rooted in eternal or natural law.”

This is the great issue today in the public square: Is the law rooted in truth? Is it transcendent, immutable, and morally binding? Or is it, as liberal interpreters argue, simply whatever courts say it is? Do we discover the law, or do we create it?

Many think of King as a liberal firebrand, waging war on traditional values. Nothing could be further from the truth. King was a great conservative on this central issue, and he stood on the shoulders of Augustine and Aquinas, striving to restore our heritage of justice rooted in the law of God.

Were he alive today, I believe he’d be in the vanguard of the pro-life movement. I also believe that he would be horrified at the way in which out of control courts have trampled down the moral truths he advocated. From the time of Emperor Nero, who declared Christianity illegal, to the days of the American slave trade, from the civil rights struggle of the sixties to our current battles against abortion, euthanasia, cloning, and same-sex “marriage,” Christians have always maintained exactly what King maintained.

King’s dream was to live in harmony with the moral law as God established it. So this Martin Luther King Day, reflect on that dream—for it is worthy of our aspirations, our hard work, and the same commitment Dr. King showed.

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

#420 (1/23) ''MLK, Obama and Opportunity''

URGENT CALL for PRAYER AND ACTION - 1/23 UPDATE: ''American Pastor Saeed's sham trial in Iran began on Monday. Iran claims that his conversion to Christianity and work in house churches politically undermines the Islamic Republic. His Iranian attorney, who had less than 24 hours to prepare, strongly argued that Pastor Saeed's faith did not threaten Iran's national security. This was Pastor Saeed's only day to present a defense, and his father was the only family member allowed at trial. On Tues., Iran violated American Pastor Saeed's most basic human rights by barring him and his attorney from a trial that could lead to his death. Iran forced fellow Christians to testify against Pastor Saeed and told one witness to prepare to testify again in a month. Despite the promises from the "hanging judge" trying his case that Saeed would be released on bail and a sentence could be expected next week, Iran has denied bail and Saeed remains in jail. Demand the U.S. State Department speak out against this ongoing atrocity and demand Pastor Saeed's immediate. (The U.S. State Department's response has been abysmal; it has failed to demand this American citizen's release.)... There is still time to speak out and call for international pressure on Iran. We must not be silent. Please keep this in PRAYER and SIGN THE PETITION with almost 200,000 others to ask for his release >  http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-iranian-abuse-imprisonment

As the Lord leads, please also pray that the pastor's imprisonment will only encourage Iranian believers to stand firm in their faith and that God would watch over his safety and that he will be a powerful witness for Christ to his jailers.
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''MLK, Obama and Opportunity;'' Rob Bluey, January 21, 2013, http://blog.heritage.org/2013/01/21/morning-bell-mlk-obama-inauguration-and-opportunity/ [Be sure to note the link after this post to a great article entitled, "MLK and the Nightmare of  Black Genocide."]

Fifty years ago in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King Jr. shared his dream for America. It was a vision that gave “all of God’s children” an opportunity to flourish. Today, as we remember and honor King’s legacy, it’s quite evident that millions of Americans are struggling mightily to grasp the dream that King envisioned.

King’s famous speech, delivered at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, is worth reading in its entirety. Take note of this particular passage:

"When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

What would King say about that promissory note today? On a day when President Obama will outline his vision for the next four years at his second inauguration, an overwhelming majority of Americans believe the country is headed on a wrong track. Four years of big-government solutions have left the country pessimistic and discouraged.

The politics of division and class warfare, the centerpiece of Obama’s campaign rhetoric, are the antithesis of King’s dream. Obama’s agenda — one that will likely include more reckless spending, bigger government and new challenges to our values and institutions — threatens the very nature of the American dream. Heritage’s president, Ed Feulner, wrote after November’s election, “We will see unfold over the next four years a crucial battle for the soul of America.”

Ironically, it was Obama, while running for president four years ago, who outlined an agenda that gave great hope to disaffected Americans. Instead, he squandered the opportunity.Obama’s embrace of government at every level — from Head Start programs that actually set children back, a failing public education system that is creating a new type of segregation in schools, crippling regulations and higher taxes on small businesses — is doing great harm to America. Today, Obama renews his ambitious agenda to remake America. Policy debates on gun rights, immigration, the national debt and countless other issues are already beginning to play out in Washington.

Conservatives must get to work to save America. It won’t be easy. Obama is transforming his powerful campaign apparatus into an aggressive lobbying machine. The President will never need to face voters again, creating the possibility of an even more radical agenda. If the past four years proved to be difficult, just wait for what’s ahead.

Along the way, conservatives will face tactical and strategic decisions that determine the future of the republic. There will be plenty of opportunities to critique Obama and oppose his agenda. Oversight by the U.S. House will be crucial to keep a check on the administration. Starting with the debt ceiling debate, lawmakers must stand firm for the principles that voters sent them to Washington to uphold.

It’s equally important for conservatives to articulate a positive vision for America. That was sorely lacking over the past year. Opposing Obama at every turn will only get conservatives so far. We must also explain how our policy solutions will lead to a better life for all Americans. Steve Forbes, during a recent visit to Heritage, put it this way: “If you don’t have a positive alternative … you’re going to lose.”
That’s great advice. And the place to start is stressing a fundamental American value: The United States is, and has always been, the land of opportunity. Government doesn’t create opportunity. It might redistribute it or regulate it. But ultimately, it’s the hard work and determination of Americans who make this country great.

“The American dream reminds us that every man is heir to the legacy of worthiness,” King said in a 1961 speech at Lincoln University. It’s time for conservatives to take that message to Americans from all walks of life. [emphasis here mine]

[I invite you to go to the website listed at the beginning of this article in order to learn more about those portions underlined.]
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"MLK’s Dream and the Nightmare of Black Genocide;" - by David Mathis | January 21, 2013
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/mlk-s-dream-and-the-nightmare-of-black-genocide