#601 (8/5) The Face of Evil; A Picture of God's Mercy

REMINDER: Check out this week's "Truth That Transforms  broadcast  at  http://www.truthinaction.org/index.php/truth-that-transforms/ This week's broadcast is about believing God to do great things through us entitled “The Great Adventure.” Also presented is a special feature bout having a Biblical worldview. Don’t miss it

PRAISES AND PRAYER REQUESTS:

PRAISE! - "North Carolina Governor Signs New Pro-Life Legislation into Law"- 7/30/2013;  http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=1706

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed pro-life legislation into law late Monday requiring abortion clinics to comply with basic medical standards used in outpatient surgical clinics...Court action is certain to follow challenging the law. Considering abortion is a surgical procedure, holding abortion clinics to the same standards as surgical clinics is nothing extreme. Not to mention, nearly half of the states in the country now have this requirement. On the national level, Florida Senator Marco Rubio is preparing to introduce legislation in the U.S. Senate limiting abortions to five months of pregnancy. (Sources: New York Times, TownHall) As the Lord leads, please pray:

• For the courage and integrity of more state legislatures to take pro-life positions.
• About the sanctity of life issues in America.
• For the national legislative attempts that will be introduced by Senator Marco Rubio.

ATTENTION: TODAY is the 28th 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 August 5 – 28^th Day of Ramadan - TRUE VINE (Comoros) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” (John 15:1) Comoros is an archipelago off the eastern coast of Africa near Mozambique. Islam is the state religion. Muslim Background Believers (MBB) worship in underground fellowships, but are slowly gaining some acceptance in parts of society. For instance, in Gran Comoros, MBBs must worship in secret because police, mosque leadership and extremists resist them; however, their relatives, in many cases, have accepted their new faith. Give thanks for MBBs who have been accepted by their families. May their witness draw loved ones into a relationship with Jesus.

 "Angry Islamists Turn Wrath on Egypt's Christians,"  By George Thomas, CBN News Sr. Reporter http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/July/Angry-Islamists-Turn-Wrath-on-Egypts-Christians/  Friday, July 12, 201 - "Egyptian Christians are facing growing retaliation by angry Islamists for opposing ousted President Moham3med Morsi. His supporters say Christian leaders were behind his removal from office....On Thursday, the body of a Christian merchant was found decapitated in a cemetery. Last Saturday, a Coptic Christian priest was shot by gunmen in an outdoor market. Also, days after the military coup that removed Morsi from office, Muslim extremists in southern Egypt burned dozens of Christian homes and stabbed four believers to death. "It's part of the Brotherhood's mobilization that they are targeting Christians, that they are renouncing them as behind this. If the Brotherhood is able to portray what happened as a Christian-dominated or Christian-driven protest, then they get to gain massive support in the streets," Tadros explained.PRAY for the nation of Egypt, as it faces a crucial  moment, 1) that the recent events would result in its becoming a true democracy and NOT an Islamic state; 2)  that the peoples' freedoms, in particular the religious freedom of its minorities (specifically its oppressed Christians) would be protected; 3) for peace and stability to return; 4) that the U.S. will effectively reach out to the new government, and 3) for safety for Americans living in Egypt. 

"American Pastor Saeed: 300 Illegal Days in an Iranian Prison,"  - by Jordan Sekulow, July 23, 2013 http://aclj.org/iran/american-pastor-saeed-300-illegal-days-iranian-prison ''Today [7/23] is the 300th day of American Pastor Saeed Abedini’s illegal imprisonment in Iran – 300 days away from his wife and kids, 300 days of torment for his Christian faith, 300 days and counting...Pastor Saeed’s wife, Naghmeh Abedini, responded to this positive step:"Thank you to all of the individuals who have prayed, written letters, signed petitions, called government officials, run benefit races, tweeted, and shared Saeed’s story. Thank you to all the government officials from around the world who have stood for my husband.  Iran has listened to your pleas.  While I am encouraged that Saeed is finally getting medical care, the fight is not yet over.  It has been a difficult 300 days – 300 days of torment simply because Saeed loves Jesus Christ.  I am hopeful Iran will do the just and honorable thing and release Saeed.'' ...We continue to work in this country and in the international community to secure Pastor Saeed’s freedom.  And more than 600,000 people around the world now stand in solidarity with Pastor Saeed at SaveSaeed.org. [ I urge you to pray DAILY for this courageous brother in Christ and his family and the hundreds of thousands of other Christians worldwide suffering persecution for their faith. - Stan] 

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Abortionist Curtis Boyd: “Am I Killing? Yes, I Am. I Know That.” - by Ashley Baldwin | Albuquerque, NM | LifeNews.com | 8/2/13  http://www.lifenews.com/2013/08/02/abortionist-curtis-boyd-am-i-killing-yes-i-am-i-know-that/

At age 76, Curtis Boyd, infamous late-term abortionist, has performed thousands of abortions on viable babies. Ironically, Boyd was raised in a Christian home in Texas, and later in life became an ordained Baptist minister. Then, with complete disregard to God’s commandments, Boyd left the church and opened up a back alley abortion clinic in Athens, Texas

Before Roe V. Wade in 1973, the Supreme Court Decision that decriminalized abortion in the United States, Boyd was aborting children by the hundreds. Though illegal, Boyd felt that performing abortions was more important than abiding by the law of the land. When word got out about his chop shop, he was forced out of Athens and reopened in Dallas, where he continued to rally support for “abortion rights”.

Boyd says, “In those days, the big fear was someone would either file charges against me or I would have some major complication or patient death. I knew that every patient I saw had the potential to not only take my medical license, but to put me in prison.” After Roe v. Wade passed, Boyd scurried to open the very first abortion clinic, Southwestern Women’s Surgery Center in Texas, and then immediately found a way to open its sister abortion clinic, Southwestern Women’s Options, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Boyd was a founding member of the National Abortion Federation, an association of abortion clinics that has become infamous for having filthy conditions, botched abortions and abortion deaths, among many other violations. 

He is known for his invention of new second-trimester abortion techniques. In the past, Boyd experimented on his patients trying to develop pain management protocols and discover new ways to reduce the risks of abortion surgeries. Imagine the pain and horror.

Boyd works closely with organizations like “Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice”, an organization composed of so-called Catholic priests and so-called Protestant pastors who meet with abortion-minded women, to give them “counseling” to “bless their decision to abort”.

“Am I killing? Yes, I am. I know that.”

Boyd says that he “prays” for his abortion victims. “I’ll ask that the spirit of this pregnancy returns to God with love and with understanding.”

My stomach turns at the reality of viable babies being killed and the sickening idea of mothers being led to believe that God is blessing their decision. But that is why Survivors hits ABQ Aug 2-10 with an all-city public awareness campaign: to expose this travesty. Deception cannot survive in the light. Join us August 2, with the national pro-life community, including Live Action, Created Equal, Students For Life and Operation Rescue.

God does not bless killing. The deception ends, beginning with you, beginning now. You do not want to miss this opportunity to end the late-term killing of these babies!

LifeNews Note: Ashley Baldwin writes for Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust.

"Abortion Survivor: My Mom Tried to Abort Me Three Times, God Protected Me"http://www.lifenews.com/2013/08/02/abortion-survivor-my-mom-tried-to-abort-me-three-times-god-protected-me/

“I am 25 years old and a product of multiple failed abortion attempts. I was born in India to an unwed 15 year old who felt her only option was abortion. My birth mother went to abort me but was stopped due to running into an old friend of hers, who was also connected with my (adoptive) parents, which is where the adoption process began. In the care of this women, my birth mother tried again to get rid of her unborn child.

She ate some fruit that would induce early labor resulting in my death, she also attempted to throw herself out the window killing us both as well as once she was finally in labor, she attempted to keep it a secret with the possible intention to kill me after I was born. I do not blame her for any of this and realize it was the pressure of the culture forcing her decisions.

The Lord had other plans for my life. I have had the immense blessing in my life to be adopted not only once but twice – first physically then spiritually. It’s a blessing as undeserving as I am, to have been chosen, in a very real way, to be part of both of these families. And yet, when I was younger it was something I had to work through as my eldest brother sexually abused me for nearly 10 years [!] and living in constant fear of whether or not my (adoptive) family would choose his side if I told because he was blood family and I was “just adopted”.

These are a big part of who I am and my testimony – not something I would have chosen but not something I would take back either as I am able to tell of God’s faithfulness through every circumstance. 

These areas of my life have made Proverbs 16:9 very real to me, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”

[bold, italics and underline my emphasis]