#585 (7/20) "Blood Bought Freedom"

REMINDER: Check out this week's "Truth That Transforms" broadcast at www.truthinaction.org). This week’s program is Part 2 of a special program entitled “One Nation Under God” that looks at the Christian roots of America. Incredible program;  Don’t miss it

PRAISES AND PRAYER REQUESTS:

PRAISE! July 18 -" Planned Parenthood Closes Down Abortion Clinic Abby Johnson Managed "-  The Planned Parenthood abortion business announced today that it is closing three of its facilities following Gov. Rick Perry’s signature on a bill to ban late-term abortions and hold abortion clinics accountable to higher safety standards.

Apparently the abortion clinic Abby Johnson once managed can’t meet those standards expected of legitimate medical centers, and it is closing.http://www.lifenews.com/2013/07/18/planned-parenthood-closes-down-abortion-clinic-abby-johnson-managed/

PRAISE! July 18 - "Baby [in Brazil]Who Doctors Declared Dead Comes to Life After Placing Her on Church Altar" - A little girl who doctors declared dead after she was born prematurely has come back to life after she was placed on a church altar. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/07/18/baby-who-doctors-declared-dead-comes-to-life-after-placing-her-on-church-altar/

ATTENTION: TODAY is the 12th day of the 30 days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (see link below for resource material you can download.) Please join me in focusing your prayers EVERY DAY for these over one billion people who need to hear the gospel of Jesus.[NOTE: 1) You can download a  page of helpful basic information about Islam and Ramadan at: http://www.opendoorsusa.org/downloads/pdf-downloads/Islam_reference_guide-1.pdf ; and 2) The following is from a 30-day prayer guide you can download at: http://www.opendoorsusa.org/downloads/pdf-downloads/2013-ramadan-prayer-calendar-1.pdf (The following is from that prayer guide.)July 20 – 12^th Day of Ramadan - GOOD SHEPHERD (Syria) “’I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.’” (John 10:11)  Almost every citizen of Syria knows of someone who has been killed, kidnapped, or injured. Basic essentials are scarce; trauma is everywhere. And yet, many Christians are choosing to stay! Churches are coming together, as never before, in unity to help not only each other, but their Muslim neighbors. During Ramadan, pray for a mighty revival! Pray that these “living shepherds,” who know the risks, even to death, will reach out, in the name of Jesus.

American Pastor Saeed Held Prisoner in Iran - June 5th Update - "Saeed's Wife Uses UN Speech to 'Plant Gospel'," by George Thomas, CBN News Sr. Reporter, June 05, 2013, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/June/Saeeds-Wife-Uses-UN-Speech-to-Plant-Gospel/?cpid=EU_CBNNEWSPM_2013_156"Prayers from Prison: American Pastor Held in Iran Releases Letter," May 22, 2013; http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=1458"...Abedini has been held at the brutal prison for 238 days, enduring long stints in solitary confinement, and, according to his supporters, beatings and torture at the hands of his jailers and fellow inmates. For months, he has been suffering from serious injuries, including internal bleeding from beatings with no proper medical attention, according to his family and attorneys."(Sources: Fox News, Assemblies of God website) Please PRAY:1) For the imprisoned Pastor Abedini, and for those Iranians who tend to his needs in prison to treat him more humanely. 2) For his family in Boise, Idaho. and their efforts to involve the U.S. State Department in securing Pastor Abedini’s release. And 3) For the impact of his witness upon believers and non-believers, in America and across the world. And if you have not yet, join the over 600,000 worldwide who have signed the petition asking for his release at www.SaveSaeed.org

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Blood Bought Freedom -

- Upheaval results in more persecution of Egyptian Christians, By Dave Ficere,  http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/issues

“Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood.” – John Adams

“We cannot have our freedom without blood. It is the price, what can we do?” – Egyptian Christian activist Nirvana Mamdouh

Earlier this month the world watched in stunned silence as the Egyptian military rose up to oust President Mohammed Morsi, replacing him with a civilian government. Buried beneath the headlines was the role Egypt’s minority Christian community played in the uprising.Coptic Christians along with the other Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox communities played a “significant role in raising the masses,” according to Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. Jasser, in an interview with The Christian Post, also predicted that Egypt’s historic Coptic community and the other groups will “play a huge role" in the next phase of Egyptian politics.

Jasser’s assessment about the importance of the Christian community in the Egyptian uprising is shared by Steven S. Bucci, at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. “I just think that the fate of the Christian communities is an under reported and under evaluated situation,” he said. “I’m not saying they’re more important than the other communities, but they’re more at risk than other communities.”

Bucci’s assessment of the risk has proved to be prophetic. Dozens of Egyptian Christians have lost their lives since the beginning of the 2011 revolution that toppled former leader Hosni Mubarak and led to the Morsi presidency. In addition, others have suffered constant harassment or violence and had their churches torched. Human rights organizations say that some Coptic women have been beaten, compelled to wear hijabs, or forcibly converted to Islam.

In a recent headline, even the liberal-leaning Associated Press reported that Christians are “paying the price for their activism,” citing a story about what they called “a mob of Muslim extremists” who chased, captured and beat a Christian businessman and his nephew. The 41-year-old man was killed, while his nephew survived with only shoulder and head injuries.

While the influential Muslim Brotherhood has publicly stood against the targeting of Coptic Christians, the violence has continued. Recently, in the south-central Egyptian tourist city of Luxor one person was killed and 23 homes torched. A Coptic Christian priest was shot and killed last week in the coastal city of El Arish in one of several attacks purportedly led by Islamist insurgents.

Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., after initially backing Morsi following his election, the Obama administration has been strangely quiet about the recent uprising, except to publicly state that what happened in Egypt can’t be considered a “coup.” According to former Pentagon official Michael Rubin, the Egyptian uprising has put the White House in a precarious situation. “We can’t call it a military coup because U.S. law forbids giving assistance when an elected government is overthrown in a coup,” he says. “President Obama is like a gambler who is always hesitant to call his bets until he sees the cards on the table,” Rubin explained.

Middle East consultant Andrew Doran is also troubled by the administration’s policies in the region. In the case of Egypt, Doran says, it “fits into a deeply troubling pattern that has emerged in this administration – namely, the tendency to tolerate extremism where moderate alternatives exist. In Iran, Turkey, and Egypt, the Obama administration has aligned itself with Islamists and against the revolutionary proponents of secularism, liberalism, and pluralism.”

Doran says it’s up to outside voices to speak up on behalf of Egypt’s Christian community. Opining in National Review, he wrote: 

"Those who cherish freedom of conscience and religion should stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable in the Middle East, especially its Christians – the region’s most powerful symbol of pluralism. To speak out on behalf of Christians in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East is to be in solidarity with those…who long for secular governance and the universal values recognized in America’s Declaration of Independence."

In light of what’s happening in Egypt, pray:

• For protection for Egypt’s Christian community as they continue to speak out boldly
• For America’s leaders, especially those who make foreign policy decisions
• For democracy to reign in Egypt with a lessening of the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence

[bold  and italics emphasis mine]

Dave Ficere’s articles and writing have been featured in a wide array of media including radio promotions, devotional publications, websites, magazines and newsletters. The owner of Ficere Writing Solutions, Dave is married to Patt and lives in Phoenix, AZ.