NEWS /PRAYER ALERT! - Ukraine Accuses Russia of 'Invasion, Occupation'- By George Thomas, Friday, February 28, 2014; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/February/Ukraine-Accuses-Russia-of-Invasion-Occupation-/ - SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine -- Russian troops now control an airport near their naval base in Sevastopol, Ukraine. Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov is calling the siege a "military invasion and occupation." "It is in violation of all international treaties and norms," he charged. "This is a direct provocation to armed bloodshed on the territory of a sovereign state."... [Let's be in prayer as the Ukraine is facing an ever increasing threat of civil war. Pray esp. for beievers to be submitted to and guided by the Holy Spirit in how to BE JESUS during these turbulent times. May many who are and will encounter great suffering as a result of this continuing conflict find their hope and strength in Jesus by coming to faith in Him. - Stan]
NEWS/PRAYER ALERT! Divided Country: Ukrainians Count the Cost of Change - By George Thomas, February 25, 2014;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/February/Ukrainians-Facing-Uncertain-Future/ KIEV, Ukraine
NEWS/PRAYER ALERT! "Ukraine President Becomes Fugitive from Justice "- By George Thomas, Monday, February 24, 2014; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/February/Opposition-Takes-Presidency-in-Divided-Ukraine/ KIEV, Ukraine -- The former president of Ukraine is a fugitive from justice Monday. The country's interim government issued an arrest warrant for Viktor Yanukovich after the mass killings of civilians last week. Yanukovch fled the capital Saturday and reportedly is in hiding in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainians are mourning the loss of more than 100 people killed in clashes between riot police and protesters. That sadness is settling over a country facing dramatic political changes...On Saturday, Ukraine's parliament stunned the nation by voting overwhelmingly to impeach Yanukovych. Hours later, members of parliament picked Oleksandr Turchynov, a prominent evangelical Christian, as interim president until new elections in May. "Christians were praying on Independence Square," Pastor Kaluzhny said. "We were praying in our churches. People around the world were praying for us, and God did a miracle! Ukraine is a new country." What happens next is uncertain.
As the Lord leads, please pray:
-That the turmoil in Ukraine will be resolved
-That the leaders of Ukraine will be able to peacefully resolve their impasse
-Safety for those trapped by the violence in the nation
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/ 2/6 - PRAISE GOD that after pastor Abedini has been unjustly imprisoned for over a year and a half, President Obama finally spoke out himself for the pastor's release as well as that of Ken Bae from North Korea (see below)!
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:
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/ - 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.]
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.
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.
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
- 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
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"Like Slavery, Abortion Gives One Person 'Ownership' of Another" - by Niamh Ui Bhriain | Dublin, Ireland | LifeNews.com | 2/14/14;http://www.lifenews.com/2014/02/14/like-slavery-abortion-gives-one-person-ownership-of-another/-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last week I finally got to watch the acclaimed film 12 Years a Slave, which tells the story of Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Louisiana.
It’s a harrowing and unflinching film that doesn’t spare the viewer – and rightly so.
A scene from the film 12 Years a Slave
Slavery, a practice largely brought to the United States by the Dutch and British empires, was legal in that jurisdiction (and beyond) for two hundred years. The cruelty endured by the men, women and children forced into slavery at that time has, with some exceptions, largely gone untold on film.Steve McQueen’s movie upends all that by revealing the horrors of slavery in unsparing detail, and the impact is devastating
The scenes of pitiless exploitation, sexual abuse, starvation, humiliation, and savage beatings are so profoundly disturbing that their imprint is unforgettable.The cruelty and degradation is almost unimaginable, but it happened again and again, and it was given legal sanction, not because slave owners truly believed those held in slavery to be less than human, but because it was economically advantageous for them to do so.
In the role of malevolent slaveowner, Edwin Epps, the actor Michael Fassbender gives an unsettling portrayal of a deranged, sadistic and horrendously violent man. History shows there were, sadly, too many like him, and too many others, who turned a blind eye to the suffering of their fellow human beings.
However, the violence seen in screen isn’t the most shocking thing about the film. What’s most disturbing is that Epps and others were protected by the law, and that nothing in the law could have stopped Epps, or any slaveowner, from beating and killing these men, women and children. Of course we already knew that to be true, but historical fact is thrown into sharp relief when the film shows the consequences of that law, and the utter helplessness of those who were enslaved by it.
These people, known as slaves, were, under law, the property of the slaveowner. They were, under law, less than human. They could be abused, beaten, even killed, under law, because a decision had been made to allow slaveowners the right to own people as property.
To me, there were striking and obvious parallels with abortion. It is now legal in many countries throughout the world to kill a child in the womb. Those laws have effectively given ownership of the child in the womb to another. The child is like a piece of property – or a non-human – which can be legally killed because of the decision of another.
The human rights of people held in slavery were subjugated to the dreadful notion that one human being had the right to main or kill another because of the owner’s ‘choice’ in deciding how to treat his ‘property’. Now the rights of preborn children have been subjugated to an industry which uses the same distorted logic of ‘my body, my choice’ to exploit women and kill their children.
We have not, it seems, learnt from the shameful lessons of history. The dehumanisation of our fellow human beings, which was the hallmark of slavery, is now being used to justify abortion and keep it legal. The noble efforts of a brave few – including Solomon Northup – ensured slavery was legally abolished in most parts of the world by the mid-eighteenth century. It is long past time for the abortion industry to face the same abolition.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
LifeNews Note: Niamh Ui Bhriain writes for the Life Institute.
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