#467 (3/17) SUNDAY SPECIAL - "How Not to Sound Homophobic [And Defend Tradtional Marriage] "

URGENT PRAYERS/PETITIONS:

REMINDER: "Truth That Transforms" broadcast - (Cen. FL - Sun., 5 pm, ch. 55.1; Mon. 7 pm. ch. 52.2; www.truthinaction.org) This week talking about attacks on  the Word of God.

 CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR PASTOR SAEED (Iranian-born AMERICAN pastor who just started an 8 year sentence for helping the underground churches in Iran) - "As Iran continues to abuse imprisoned American Pastor Saeed Abedini, its goal is now clear -- force Pastor Saeed to deny Christ.We've obtained a new letter from Pastor Saeed detailing his continued mistreatment in the deadly Evin Prison, including Iran's efforts to force him to convert from Christianity back to Islam. Pastor Saeed writes: "[A]fter all of these pressures, after all of the nails they have pressed against my hands and 'feet, they are only waiting for one thing…for me to deny Christ.' Yet he is standing strong, declaring '"they will never get this from me.' (Read of the inspiring  letter he has written from prison at http://aclj.org/iran/pastor-saeed-writes-psychological-warfare-physical-violence-death-threats-iranian-prison) UPDATE of 3/11 - 1) Those in support of Pastor Saeed have been at the UN meetings in Geneva the past week testifying to the Human Rights Commission; 2) The American Center for Law and Justice testified before a committee of the House of Rep. on Friday about Pastor Saeed and other persecuted Christians in the Middle East  Shockingly, our State department failed to even send a reprsentative to the hearing (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/15/state-dept-ducks-hearing-us-pastor-detained-iran/) If you have not already, please join nearly 500,000 (was recently250,000) who have signed the petition  for Pastor Saeed's release and tell your friends about it.  http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-from-iranian-prison-sentence 

As the Lord leads, please pray:

• For Pastor Abedini as he endures one of Iran’s most deadly prisons, potentially beaten and abused regularly, simply because of his Christian faith.
• For the pastor’s wife and family and the Holy Spirit’s comfort upon them.
• For the continuing meetings at the UN meetings in Geneva about Pastor Saeed.
• For the U.S. State Department to get involved in a significant way to obtain the pastor’s release.

PLEASE Continue to PRAY: "Libya Arrests Suspected Christian Missionaries ," February 16, 2013; "Four foreigners were arrested in Libya on suspicion of distributing books about Christianity and proselytizing, a Libyan police spokesman said on Saturday. Spreading Christianity is a crime in the predominantly Muslim North African county. The four were arrested in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday and are under investigation for printing and distributing books that proselytize Christianity. Police said they found 45,000 books in their possession and that another 25,000 have already been distributed. The suspects are from South Africa, Egypt, South Korea, and one holds both Swedish and U.S. Nationality. The U.S. Embassy in Libya has declined comment. "(Sources: CBS News, USA Today, Associated Press) [So much for the so-called "Arab Spring." - Stan]As the Lord leads, PLEASE PRAY:  ·   For the timely release of the arrested missionaries. ·   For all who share God’s loving salvation in Muslim countries.   

DECLARE YOUR SUPPORT FOR TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE. Please SIGN THE PETITION BELOW to declare yopur support for the traditional marrriage definition of marriage and in support of an amicus brief to go to the Supreme Court as it considers a redefinition of marriage on March 27th. Their decision on whether to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act passed by Congress in 1996 could be as pivotal to marriage and the family in America as Roe v. Wade was to the sanctity of human life in America. MOST IMPORTANTLY, please BE PRAYING EACH DAY for when Supreme Court reviews of this case (and Prop. 8 passed years ago in CA that made the traditional definition into law) on WED. 3/27 and for their decisions. https://www.truthinaction.org/index.php/the-affirmation-of-marriage/?utm_source=Truth+In+Action+News+List&utm_campaign=9d8fb2dcc6-DOMA+%231+AB+TEST+Length&utm_medium=email

[NOTE: The following brief articles present thoughts to help Christians speak up for traditional marriage and about the dangers of so-called "same-sex" marriage. It's something every believer should be prepared to do in light of the cultural direction our country is headed. - Stan]
"How Not to Sound Homophobic - Arguing Against Gay Marriage," By: Chuck Colson|Breakpoint.org; July 16, 1996  http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/breakpoint-commentaries-search/entry/13/12516 The... Defense of Marriage Act--a bill that would allow states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted by other states - [was signed into law in 1996.] The debate that preceded the vote was both angry and emotional--and it reminds us that if Christians are going to prevail, we need to learn how to discuss gay marriage in a way that our secular neighbors can relate to. The House of Representatives passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) by a huge margin--342 to 67. But the bill's opponents succeeded on one front, at least: making defenders of traditional marriage look like hate-filled homophobes.

Rep. Steve Gunderson, the only openly gay Republican in Congress, described the bill as "mean." Why, Gunderson asked, must Congress "attack one element of our society for some cheap political gain?"
Several representatives responded to Gunderson by opening their Bibles and reading from them. One lawmaker bluntly described homosexuality as "perversion." But these are perfect illustrations of how not to argue this issue.

The vast majority of Americans no longer believe in the authority of Scripture. So how do we argue against gay marriage in a way that our neighbors can understand? The answer is: We have to argue in a way that appeals to the common good.

Former education secretary Bill Bennett ...did this in a Washington Post op-ed piece. Bennett urged readers to consider the long-term social effects of redefining marriage. One argument against same-sex marriage is the signals it would send, Bennett writes, and the impact of such signals on the shaping of human sexuality, especially among the young. "Societal indifference about heterosexuality and homosexuality would cause a lot of confusion," he adds.

Legalizing gay marriages means that public schools would be forced to teach that heterosexual and homosexual marriages are equivalent. Homosexual couples would be considered just as competent to adopt and raise children as heterosexual couples--even though we know that "it is far better for a child to be raised by a mother and a father than by, say, two male homosexuals," Bennett says.

When Christians defend traditional marriage, they're defending far more than just the Christian definition of this institution. As Bennett puts it, they're also defending the "accumulated wisdom of millennia and the teaching of every major religion." In a world with so many cultures with so "few common threads," Bennett writes, " . . . marriage is almost universally recognized as an act meant to unite a man and a woman."

These are the kinds of arguments that Christians must make when the gay marriage issue is debated. And make no mistake, this debate will continue no matter what Congress does...Whether or not our society should recognize gay marriages is an issue that will ultimately be decided in the court of public opinion. And we have to remind our neighbors of what is really at stake. As Rep. Steve Largent reminded us during the Congressional debate over DOMA, no society that embraces homosexuality has ever survived.

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

"The Biblical Case for Protecting Traditional Marriage," February 1, 2013

, Truth In Action Ministries; http://www.truthimpact.me/index.php/2013/02/the-biblical-case-for-protecting-traditional-marriage/?utm_source=Impact+e-Newsletter&utm_campaign=a4baf32ce0-Impact_Newsletter_2_8_2012&utm_medium=email
Jesus Christ affirmed God’s plan for marriage:

“… He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh …’”
(Matthew 19:4-5 nkjv)

The unity in marriage is, indeed, physical, but it is also emotional and spiritual, reflecting the unity enjoyed by the Trinity and mirroring the unity of Christ and His church. God’s commandment, “Be fruitful and multiply,” was given within the context of marriage (Genesis 1:28 nkjv).  He intended marriage between man and woman to be lifelong, committed, and cooperative—creating a suitable environment for raising children.

Glenn Stanton said, in Marriage on Trial, “Just as it is wrong to say that sex should be set free from marriage, or that marriage need not be for life, it is also wrong to say that husband or wife, or mother or father, don’t matter for the family.”

Marriage between one man and one woman—for life—is God’s plan. He instituted it to enable civilizations to prosper and flourish from generation to generation.“Tolerating” any other plan for marriage only brings heartache and pits a society against God.

[bold and italics emphasis mine]