NEWS ALERT! - "Islamists Murder 99 in Attack on Nigeria Village" - January 28, 2014; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/January/Islamists-Murder-99-in-Attack-on-Nigeria-Village/ - Islamic terrorists, using bombs and heavy guns, killed at least 99 people in an attack on a Christian village of Wada Chakawa in northeast Nigeria. Villagers say the attackers stormed a Roman Catholic Church during Sunday morning service.Spraying the congregation with bullets and setting off bombs, the terrorists killed dozens inside the church and held others hostage during a five-hour siege.They also burned down hundreds of homes. Officials say it's one of the highest death tolls in attacks by extremists. The militant Boko Horam has not taken credit for the attack, but it's been waging a war against the government in the north. PRAY FOR THE TERRORISTS TO BE REPELLED; FOR THE VILLAGERS AFFECTED TO KNOW GOD'S COMFORT AND PROVISION;
SIGN NEW PETITION - (Jan. 27) American Pastor Saheed Abidini - An Iranian leader has said that clemency for the pastor after almost 1 and 1/2 years being falsely imprisoned. Please sign this new petition at: http://beheardproject.com/
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:
Prayer Alert! - Soci, Russia, Olympics > Let's be sure to be praying for God to move against all who would bring harm to the athletes and others. Pray that the security forces would be effective in rooting out any terrorist plans and preventing them from being carried out. Pray for the families of the athletes who must be very anxious for their loved ones being in harm's way.
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.] 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
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
"Same-Sex Marriage and Witchcraft" - Truth in Action Ministries, http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=cd47cf2b58ae89c48e0c22cbe&id=7143e8c002&e=cca48189c6
As you may have seen, this past Sunday night’s Grammy Awards program, televised nationally on CBS, featured a mass wedding ceremony that included numerous same-sex couples, officiated by actress/singer Queen Latifah, and solemnized by the singing of Madonna.
In fact, much of what we saw Sunday night was a counterfeit worship service, though it was clearly not the true God who was being worshipped. Since the entertainment industry has devoted much of its efforts in recent decades to increasingly inane (and in this case exploitative, as the entertainers used the wedding couples as pawns for their own publicity stunt) attempts to be “transgressive,” we shouldn’t really be surprised.
And, of course, this is yet another demonstration of what the Apostle Paul himself described in Romans 1: “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!” (Romans 1:24-25, ESV). Counterfeit worship is a direct result of rejecting God, and Sunday night’s “service” featured everything from a choir to mock-stained-glass windows.
One of the interesting aspects of this year’s Grammy telecast (which also included former Christian contemporary musician Katy Perry, who performed as a literal witch emerging from a crystal ball and casting spells) is that such a thing can be televised nationwide and raise little more than a collective yawn.
The late Dr. D. James Kennedy, founder of Truth in Action Ministries, once said of Hollywood, “It continually desensitizes us until we come to accept things that at one time we would never accept at all.”
In our desensitized culture where idolatry is commonplace (and Paul makes it clear that among other things, homosexuality is a form of idolatry) it’s never been more important for Christians to pursue holiness. And in the face of such a “worship service,” it is harder and harder to justify our appetite for popular culture.
Culture is a reflection of our own particular choices. Sunday evening’s telecast once again broadcast to the world every sign of a culture under the judgment of God. Let us pray for repentance and for the furtherance of the life-giving gospel that frees us from sin and idolatry and enables us to worship the True God!
Sincerely, Jerry Newcombe, Truth In Action Ministries
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
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