URGENT PRAYERS/PETITIONS:
Same -Sex "Marriage"- PLEASE PRAY WITH ME (every day untill the decision is revealed around mid-June) THAT THE SUPREME COURT WILL VOTE TO UPHOLD THE 2 LAWS REVIEWED SUPPORTING A TRADITIONAL DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE.. PRAY that the Court will resist any pressure to MAKE new law based on "cultural trends." PRAY as though the very future of the institution of the family is at stake because it is. PRAY! - for the sake of possibly millions of children, and for our country if it is to continue to be shown any more favor by our Heavenly Father, who I promise you will be very displeased if homosexual marriage is legalized; "GOD IS NOT [TO BE] MOCKED..." - (Gal. 6:7) - Stan [Be sure to check out my brief essay at post #478.]
CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR PASTOR SAEED (Iranian-born AMERICAN pastor who just started an 8 year sentence for helping the underground churches in Iran) [See 3/25 update below!] If you have not already, please join over 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 God to visit his tormenters and all in his cell with him with supernatural dreams of the risen Christ, and use the pastor's actions and words to draw them to repent and turn to Christ; that God would use the pastor's time in that prison to spark a genuine spiritual revival that will bring scores of Iranians to Christ..*For the U.S. State Department to get involved in a significant way to obtain the pastor’s release.
April 9 - 1) It's been reported that even though Pastor Saeed has developed internal bleeding from months of beating by prison guards, he has been denied medical attention. (http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/April/Iran-Denies-Pastor-Saeed-Medical-Treatment/) PRAY that Pastor Saeed might finally receive the medical treatment he needs. 2) More than 550,000 people from 180 countries have signed the petition to Save Saeed. Your voice has moved the U.S., the European Union, and many others to call for his release. But as Pastor Saeed's May 7th 33rd birthday approaches, it's time to encourage him directly. At the ACLJ, they've obtained the address of Evin Prison, and their goal is to flood the prison with thousands of messages of encouragement for Pastor Saeed. Just write a letter (or simply sign your name to one proposed greeting) and they will be sure that its delivered. These messages will let Pastor Saeed know that we're praying for him and his release, as well as send a signal to the Iranian leaders that Americans will not give up standing up for him. Go to Save Saeed.org and add your name to those sending letters to him.
REMINDER: "Truth That Transforms" broadcast - (Cen. FL - Mon. 7 pm. ch. 52.2; www.truthinaction.org) As America notes 100 years of the Federal Income Tax, this week’s episode includes another special video about “Government Overreach.” Don’t miss another great broadcast!
"Where Did Your Tax Dollar Go?," by Romina Boccia On April 15, 2013 [NOTE: Today marks 100 years since the federal income tax was passed. We've come a long way from when just 1% of the people were taxed (ie, had forceably taken from them) a mere 1% of ther income. Today many Americans have as much as 40% of their income TAKEN from them through taxation. We have made government our king and we are forced to endure the consequences. (Go to I Sam. 8:11-18 to be reminded of what the Israelites also took on with having a king other than God. ALSO, be sure to check out the 'Truth That Transforms" program noted above. Excellent stuff!) - Stan]
Americans are waking up today to the worst “case of the Mondays” they’ll have all year: It’s Tax Day.
Most Americans dread Tax Day, and for good reasons. Beyond the huge tab Americans pay to the government, the tax code is so complex that it’s difficult to figure out what we owe to the IRS. This is a pain for taxpayers and a huge drain on the economy.
According to the federal Taxpayer Advocate [1] in its 2012 report, Americans’ cost of complying with today’s complex tax code totaled $168 billion in 2010. That’s almost as large as the impact of the Obama tax hikes in fiscal year 2013, and twice the size of sequestration this year [see chart [2]].
It takes taxpayers 6.1 billion hours—or 51 hours per household—to complete all the required filings. That’s more than six full eight-hour working days per household!
The compliance burden comes on top of the direct financial cost of $3.5 trillion in federal spending. In 2012, Washington collected $20,000 in taxes for every household in America. But Washington spent nearly $30,000 per household.
[3]Tweet this [4]Share on Facebook [5]
Americans pay high taxes as it is, and with the 13 tax increases that hit this year [6], tax revenue is growing beyond its historical average as a share of the economy. But Washington’s deficits continue, because spending keeps going up.
Future Tax Days promise to be even worse [7] because of the tax increases from the fiscal cliff deal and from Obamacare. Taxpayers will start seeing these costs when they do their tax returns next April and in future years.
Too much taxing and spending is bad for the nation. Americans are right to be concerned about how the President and Congress allocate their hard-earned money. As the above infographic shows, 45 percent or almost half of all spending went toward paying for Social Security and health care entitlements. Without reforming these massive and growing programs, Washington will have to borrow increasing amounts of money, piling debt onto younger generations and putting the nation on a dangerous economic course [8]. Growing government spending threatens current and future taxpayers with higher taxes. Congress should reduce spending and prevent any more tax increases. Congress also needs to reform the tax code [9] so it is less of a burden on the American people.
Tax day is a real drag, but it doesn’t have to be this bad. Learn more at savingthedream.org [10].
Quick Hits:
- Have you heard about the trial of Kermit Gosnell, the abortionist who ran a house of horrors? Heritage President Jim DeMint says it’s up to us to tell this story [12] that the media have been ignoring.
Article printed from The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation: http://blog.heritage.org;URL
to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/04/15/morning-bell-where-did-your-tax-dollar-go/ URLs in this post:
[1] Taxpayer Advocate: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/01/09/report-highlights-costs-of-tax-codes-complexity/
[2] see chart: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/02/26/chart-obama-2013-tax-increase-twice-as-large-as-looming-sequestration/
[3] Image: http://blog.heritage.org/wp-content/uploads/Taxday_600.jpg
[4] Tweet this: http://clicktotweet.com/iR97u
[5] Share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151535783839481&set=a.178433669480.115841.21375324480&type=1
[6] 13 tax increases that hit this year: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/01/08/tax-changes-2013/
[7] Future Tax Days promise to be even worse: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/04/tax-day-2013-no-more-tax-increases-shall-pass
[8] a dangerous economic course: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/02/how-the-united-states-high-debt-will-weaken-the-economy-and-hurt-americans
[9] reform the tax code: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/04/the-dos-and-donts-of-tax-reform
[10] savingthedream.org: http://www.savingthedream.org/
[12] tell this story: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/04/12/demint-its-up-to-us-to-tell-the-story-of-gosnell-horrors/
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