[URGENT PERSONAL PRAYER REQUEST – I believe that sometime back in April, I asked you to pray about a difficult situation I was dealing with. That “happening” resulted in my feeling hurt and confused and since then I have spent MANY hours seeking the Lord about it. Well, finally, THIS SUNDAY, Aug. 18th, I will have a chance to meet with those involved and by God’s grace the matter will be cleared up then. PRAY that God would guide the discussion and that afterwards I would clearly know what the mind of the Lord is as to how I should proceed. It is scheduled to take place after the church worship service, around NOON, EST. If God happens to bring me to your mind at that time, I would esp. appreciate your intercession that I would express myself clearly and fully guided by the Spirit. Thank you VERY MUCH. Stan]
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST- Update on Kenneth Bae: "US Ready to Bargain with N. Korea for Bae's Release,"- CBNNews.com, Aug 14, 2013 http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/S-Ready-to-Bargain-with-N-Korea-for-Baes-Release/ - The United States is willing to engage North Korea to secure the release of imprisoned American Christian Kenneth Bae.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the United States is "willing to consider a number of different options" to bring him home.In a video recently released by a North Korean newspaper, Bae requested the United States send a high-ranking official to North Korea to seek his pardon. It is unclear if he spoke of his own volition in the video. Bae, 45, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for sharing his faith. He suffers health problems such as diabetes and is currently hospitalized.[PRAY for 1) God's healing of and presence with Pastor Bae, 2) His earliest release by the North Korean government, and 3) God's comfort for his family and friends.]
"Muslims Bomb Christian Homes, Church in Egypt," - CBNNews.com; Aug. 12, 2013; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/Muslims-Bomb-Christian-Homes-Church-in-Egypt/ [CONTINUE TO KEEP THE CHRISTIANS IN EGYPT IN PRAYER as they increasingly have become the targets of Islamic extremists during this uncertain time in one of the largest Arab countries in the Middle East.] Angry Muslims tossed gasoline bombs into a Christian church and four Christian homes in southern Egypt over the weekend, wounding 15 people. Officials say the incident began Sunday, when two families started fighting after a Muslim tried to stop a Christian neighbor from building a speed bump in front of her home. Tensions between Egypt's Muslim and Christian communities have been high ever since Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was ousted from power last month.
“Abandoned” For Christ" -
Franklin Graham is the latest to join the chorus of voices calling for U.S. State Department and White House officials to take a more vocal role in protesting the Iranian imprisonment of American pastor Saeed Abedini. September 26 will mark the one year anniversary of Abedini’s imprisonment for allegedly “endangering the national security” of Iran.
Graham pointed out that, in contrast to Iranian accusations, “Pastor Saeed was in Iran trying to help children. With the permission of Iran’s government, he was working to build an orphanage. But his humanitarian mission led to an arrest on bogus charges and nearly a year of inhumane treatment, simply because he loves Jesus Christ.”...
Behind the scenes, more than 600,000 people around the world have signed a petition sponsored by ACLJ in support of pastor Abedini. A concerted movement this past May brought together Christians from many nations to set aside Pentecost to pray for Abedini. On June 13, demonstrations were held at Iranian embassies in at least six countries to protest Abedini’s treatment. And, on July 29, Arizona Republican Representative Trent Franks spoke on the floor of the House to urge other Congressmen to join him in “adopting” Pastor Abedini through the bipartisan Defending Freedoms Project.
Saeed’s response…and yours
Through his family living in Iran, Pastor Abedini has been made aware of these efforts on his behalf, and is grateful. “I heard that the persecution, my arrest and imprisonment has united churches from different denominations, from different cities and countries. That the churches have united together in prayer to put one request (my freedom) on one day (Pentecost) before God,” he wrote in a letter.
The story of Saeed Abedini, the jihad against Syrian Christians, the attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt, and the ongoing desecration of churches in Nigeria and India should cause every American to reflect on the blessings of freedom still enjoyed in this nation.
PRAY: For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.
- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him
- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ
- BOLDly (Beside Our Leaders Daily) for leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans
- Go to SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release.
- ------------------------------------------------------------
Remembering World War II With Shame (a short personal essay) - As an American, I have always remembered this time of year with pride in what our troops and the Allies did to win that tragic war. However, recently, as I was reading a guide on praying for Japan written by a Japanese pastor (translated into English).that reminded me of a perspective I tend to forget. On p. 103 of Operation Japan, he writes the following;"On August 14, 1945, Japan accepted the Postdam Proclamation and surrendered unconditionally, ending the Pacific Ocean side of World War ii. It also brought closure to the three-year-long Greater East Asia fighting, the eight-year Sino-Japanese War, and the 15 year invasion of the Chinese continent by the Japanese military. It brought an end to 50 years of colonial rule in Taiwan, and to 35 years of cruel treatment to the people of Korea. [This list of nations brutalized by the Japanese does not include the hundreds of thousands of those Southeast Asia and does not mention the documented (as did the Nazis) experiements on live Chinese and probably other prisoners of war.]"
"On May 3, 1947, Japan was given a new constitution. For the next six years and eight months Japan was, for the first time ever, under the control of a foreign power. August 15th has been set aside [in Japan] to observe the ending of World War II. The phrase, "ending of a war," gives the impression that the war ended itself. We Japanese must never forget our responsibility in beginning the war, [the atrocities Japanese committed during the war] and our defeat in the war.[This sentence reminded me of when I was studying the Japanese language while a missionary in Japan. One day, in the midst of a lesson (in what context I do not remember), our male instructor (someone who could easily have been a soldier himself during the war) proudly looked at us and made the statement, "We Japanese didn't lose the War. We merely made to surrender to a conquering foreign power'' (or words to that effect). Though I instinctively knew that was incorrect and felt incredulous, I was not in a position to say anything.] The same is true with Jesus. Unless we unconditionally accept the truth that we are sinners, true salvation and peace through Jesus Christ will never come. [This sentence reminds me of hearing that Japanese textbooks have (had?) long practiced history revisionism that retold the details of World War II to present a more sympathetic view of the nation. It also reminded me to of hearing of another pastor in Japan saying that he believes that God has purposely closed the hearts of the Japanese people to the gospel (much as He did with the Egyptian pharaoh in the book of Exodus) because as citizens of the war-making nation,the Japanese people had never truly repented of their culpability in the war. While some may disagree with this assessment, it does make one think when Japan continues to be called "the graveyard of missionaries."
Now, as a Japanese-American, there is no other time when I feel ashamed of my ancestry as when I am reminded of what those of my racial descent did for many decades. It is why it always bothers me that to be "politically correct" these days, you have to only focus on America's dropping the atomic bomb as the definitive story of World War II. Personally, that kind of selective historical revisionism is repulsive to me. In closing, I must also say that one thing the prayer guide I read did encourage me about was telling me of the many efforts being made by the Japanese churches to reach out with the gospel in particular to the peoples of those nations Japan victimized for so many years. At least among Japanese Christians, there is tangible evidence of genuine repentance that offers hope of God's blessing on all the Japanese people.- Stan
"Living Like Royalty" - from The Tea Party.Net (info@theteaparty.net) Aug. 13, 2013 [NOTE:To be fair, its not just the First Family that has a reputation of excesses in spending on themselves. For instance, not many months ago, the Vice-President and his wife (you may remember) spent $1 million at taxpayer expense for an overnight stay in a Paris hotel.]
I don’t know about you, but I am deeply disturbed by the Obama’s frivolous spending of taxpayer money. During a time when Americans are having to cut back, with many living in fear of losing their homes and/or their jobs, and with a vacation out of reach for many people because of the damaging economic effects of Obama’s destructive policies, the president has no business going on a nearly $8 million vacation. When was the last time they simply went back home to Chicago? I can only recall once or twice that Obama went there for an overnight trip. The First Family seems to think that they are royalty with the lavish life of luxury they live with their vacationing on the taxpayer dime.
To add insult to injury, the word has gotten out that First Dog Bo will have his own special trip to the family vacation. Rather than leaving him with a boarder, White House staff, or having him fly on the plane with the Obama family, Bo was airlifted aboard his own aircraft to join the family at Martha’s Vineyard.
From the UK Telegraph: "Bo, the president’s Portuguese Water Dog, arrived separately on one of two MV-22 Ospreys, a hybrid aircraft which takes off like a helicopter but flies like a plane. It was the first time the Ospreys have been taken on holiday by a US president."
Yet more evidence from our president that he sees us as serfs, peons, peasants. I’m sure left will compare apples to oranges in talking about how many ‘days of vacation’ that Bush took. What they fail to mention and compare, however, is that Bush’s vacation was to his own personal ranch in Crawford, TX that was set up so that he could work. I do not recall tens of millions of dollars being spent yearly on rooms running $5,000+ a night and more on a regular basis and his dog Barney being given the royal treatment with his own personal airplane.
.
Obama’s summer vacation (away from his daily vacation of golf and campaigning) is yet another example of the “Do as I say, not as I do” world Obama lives in.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
No comments:
Post a Comment