SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
NEWS ALERT: Oct. 23: "Christians Fleeing IRAQ Area Once Considered Safe," - CBNNews.com, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/October/Christians-Fleeing-Iraq-Area-Once-Considered-Safe/ PRAY that believers in Iraq will know God's protection and provision; that believers will know[ whether they are called to flee or remain and persevere; and that their persecutors may come to hear the gospel and come to faith in Christ. - Stan]
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
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.]
NEWS ALERT: Monday, November 04, 2013 - Saeed's Life in [Greater] Jeopardy After Prison Transfer - CBNNews.com, ; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/November/Saeeds-Life-in-Jeopardy-after-Prison-Transfer/ IRAN - Vigils Mark One Year Imprisonment of Pastor Saeed - CBNNews.com, Thursday, September 26, 2013 - Today marks one-year that American pastor Saeed Abedini has been held in an Iranian prison. He is serving an eight-year sentence because of his Christian faith. It has been a year of torment as he has suffered beatings, physical pain from untreated medical conditions, and separation from his wife and two children... The suffering has not dampened his passion for Jesus. Pastor Abedini has led more than 30 prisoners to Christ during his time in prison. This afternoon, thousands of Americans from coast to coast will pray for his release. Events will be held in 40 states at capitols, city halls, parks and churches. Thousands more will join from 15 nations around the world
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
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------"How MLK's Faith Influenced His Public Life" - By Rich Tucker, January 20, 2014
Across the country today, speakers will honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. They will likely quote the resounding “I Have a Dream” speech and the stirring “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
But what made it possible for King to accomplish so much? Let’s go deeper into the origins of his belief that men and women of all races are born to the same rights and freedoms. King explained that [1] “just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.”
King’s faith supported everything he did, and his vision for America arose directly from his Christian ideals. “If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong,” he declared. [2] “If we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong.”
Christianity teaches that people must love one another, and even before he began his crusade for civil rights, King frequently preached [3] that people must love their enemies and forgive those who attempt to harm them. The marches, rallies, and boycotts he organized all featured non-violence, because they were born in Christian love and hope.
King called on Americans [4] “to look deep down within every man and see within him something of Godliness.” His faith in God gave him faith in his fellow Americans. They proved worthy. Within a generation [5], “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners” were finally treated as equals under the law.
While King talked openly about his faith, these days there’s pressure to scrub religion from the public square. Activists seem to misunderstand the First Amendment [6]. They act as if it provides freedom (for them) from religion, instead of freedom (for everyone [7]) of religion. Just last week, for example, a group in Oklahoma filed a lawsuit alleging that most of the Ten Commandments actually violate state and federal laws [8].
Unfortunately, this extends to King’s legacy as well. There are 16 quotations [9] at his D.C. memorial. Several originate in sermons and one quotes a Bible verse, yet there’s no mention of God or faith.
So on his holiday, let his words be a fitting reminder of the intersection between faith and political action. “All men, created alike in the image of God, are inseparably bound together,” King wrote in 1956. [10] “This is at the very heart of the Christian gospel.” It is the heart of the American creed as well.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
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Article printed from The Foundry: Conservative Policy News from The Heritage Foundation: http://blog.heritage.org; URL to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2014/01/20/mlks-faith-influenced-public-life/
URLs in this post:
[1] explained that: http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
[2] he declared.: http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/kingweb/publications/speeches/MIA_mass_meeting_at_holt_street.html
[3] King frequently preached: http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/documentsentry/doc_loving_your_enemies/
[4] called on Americans: http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/documentsentry/the_birth_of_a_new_age_address_delivered_on_11_august_1956_at_the_fiftieth_/
[5] Within a generation: http://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2011/01/a-dream-not-an-illusion
[6] First Amendment: http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/amendments/1/religion-speech-press-assembly-and-petition
[7] for everyone: http://www.heritage.org/initiatives/first-principles/primary-sources/washington-s-letter-to-the-hebrew-congregation-of-newport-rhode-island
[8] violate state and federal laws: http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/01/15/atheist-lawsuit-majority-of-the-ten-commandments-violate-us-constitution/
[9] are 16 quotations: http://www.nps.gov/mlkm/photosmultimedia/quotations.htm
[10] King wrote in 1956.: http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/primarydocuments/Vol4/10-Feb-1957_Non-SegregatedSociety.pdf
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