# 910 (6/16) "Honoring Our Flag"

The Bulletin Board:(Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)

PRAY FOR AMERICA:  THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14)

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:

6/13 - PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907)

(6/12-7/13) PRAY for the WORLD CUP IN BRAZIL - that God will show favor to the many thousands who are there to present the message of Christ to the athletes and visitors from around the world. May many return to their home countries having come to Christ and sharing that same new faith with family and friends.

"Will You Pray for Meriam? - A Christian Woman’s Nightmare": By: Eric Metaxas| Breakpoint.org,: June 12, 2014 ;http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/25394?spMailingID=8798979&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=321046582&spReportId=MzIxMDQ2NTgyS0 - A Sudanese Christian mother has been sentenced to death for apostasy

 LATEST SAHEED NEWS!  May 22 - "Pastor Saeed Forcibly Returned to Prison after Beating" - By Caitlin Burke,CBN News, May 22, 2014;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/May/Pastor-Saeed-Beaten-Sent-Back-to-Iran-Prison/ "Saeed Abedini, a U.S. pastor imprisoned for his faith, was severely beaten at an Iranian hospital before being returned to the brutal Rajai Shahr prison. His Iranian family claims the transfer was unexpected and the reason is unclear. But one of the guards involved in the transfer suggested recent Iranian nuclear talks could be a motive, the family said...""

We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. We also remain hopeful that in addition to getting the medical care he so desperately needs, that Iranian officials display the kind of humanitarian treatment that often accompanies the start of the Iranian New Year which began on March 21st. This is the time of year when the Iranian government frequently offers clemency to prisoners of conscience. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign]

PRAY ALSO : - 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

LATEST NEWS /PRAYER ALERT"100,000 Russian Troops at Ukraine Border, Could Invade ’At a Moment’s Notice’" - 3/28/2014;http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=3716
The U.S. State Department believes the Russian army is now prepared to launch an invasion of eastern Ukraine if President Vladimir Putin decides to pull the trigger, according to a senior Administration official."At this point, they are amassed and they could go at a moment’s notice if Putin gave the go ahead," the official said...Top Ukrainian security officials said Thursday that Russia now has 100,000 troops on its side of the Russia-Ukraine border.(Sources: CBS News, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Daily Beast) 
As the Lord leads, please pray: 
*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.
*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church']  as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.
*About President Obama and  to use wisdom in crafting our  foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.

NEWS/PRAYER ALERT!"Kim Jong-un Calls for Execution of 33 Christians" - 3/7/2014; http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=3651 "North Korea tyrant Kim Jong-un has reportedly ordered that 33 Christians believed to be working alongside South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook be put to death. The South Korean missionary - who was arrested last year - and his accomplices have reportedly started 500 or so underground churches..."[PRAY that the plans for execution would be rescinded, and these believers released.] [Che\ck out: They'll Be Dead By Morning (What Difference Will It Make) http://loristanleyroeleveld.blogspot.com/2014/03/theyll-be-dead-by-morning-what.html
NEWS ALERT/PRAISE! "Iran Allows Surgery on Ailing, Imprisoned Pastor" - CBNNews.com,March 07, 2014;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/March/Iran-Allows-Dire-Surgery-on-Ailing-Imprisoned-Pastor-/ The Iranian government has finally allowed doctors to perform surgery on imprisoned Pastor Benham Irani.Irani suffered from a herniated disc and bleeding intestines and urgently needed medical care. PRAY for the final release of Pastor Irani and others imprisoned for their faith.

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.] 
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"Honoring Our Flag" - Terry Paulson | Jun 16, 2014;
http://townhall.com/columnists/terrypaulson/2014/06/16/honoring-our-flag-n1851238/page/full

On June 14th, I had the privilege of speaking to the local Veterans of Foreign Wars' Flag Day commemoration. It's easy to take for granted our flag, but it remains a powerful symbol. The coffins of our heroic dead soldiers are draped in it. Meetings and sporting events start after pledging our allegiance to this flag and country. It's important to remind ourselves to cherish, protect, and defend it.

What's a flag and the love of country for which it stands? It's stories told. It's the minutemen standing their ground at Concord Bridge. It's the wagons and the men on foot going westward and settlers clearing their new land. It's Lincoln at Gettysburg. Even in times of corruption and disgrace, men and women in every generation have stood up to stand for the old ideals and the old rights we treasure. But it's more recent stories that remind us of our responsibility to keep our flag flying proudly.

It's men like POW Mike Christian who was captured during the Vietnam War and held in the "Hanoi Hilton." Early on the POWs were kept in individual cells, but over time due to the international pressure, they were allowed to share quarters. Mike Christian fashioned a sewing needle out of bamboo and sewed a rough American Flag to the inside of his T-Shirt.

Every morning before the guards arrived, they'd put his T-shirt on the wall and say the pledge of allegiance. When the Vietnamese guards found the shirt, they removed it. Mike was severely beaten. The day he was returned, with his eyes nearly shut from the beating, Mike stayed up all night sewing another flag into another T-shirt. Why? Because he knew how important that flag was to their morale.

It's citizens like outfielder Rick Monday. During America's bicentennial, the Dodgers were playing the Cubs on a Sunday in LA. Between innings, two people ran onto the field carrying an American flag. They unfurled it as if it was a picnic blanket. They knelt beside it, not to pay homage but to douse the flag with lighter fluid. Rick Monday, the Cubs centerfielder and a former Marine Corp Reserve, started to run after them. The wind blew the first match out. The second match was lit, but Rick scooped up the flag before they could ignite it.

As the intruders were taken from the field and without being prompted, people began to sing 'God Bless America.' That stand for freedom and the flag remains one of the 100 Classic Moments in the History of the Game as determined by the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It's citizens like John Helton. In 2013 at his home in Atlanta, GA, this WW II veteran faced a fierce battle with his Homeowner's Association over the right to fly the American flag. They had threatened to fine the Heltons $25 a day if they displayed the flag beyond the few days of the year their signed agreement allowed. Fortunately, the Freedom to Fly the American Flag Act of 2005 affirms that homeowners associations can give limitations about how they fly it, but not the fact that they could fly it!

Initially the HOA absolutely refused to listen but when several of the Helton's neighbors began flying American flags, the HOA called an emergency meeting, and residents voted overwhelmingly to allow flags to be flown every day of the year.

I end with lines from "I am the Flag" by Ruth Apperson Rous: "Eternal vigilance is your price of freedom. As you see me silhouetted against the peaceful skies of my country, remind yourself that I am the flag of your country, that I stand for what you are - no more, no less. Guard me well, lest your freedom perish from the earth. Dedicate your lives to those principles for which I stand: 'One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'"

May it be so.  

[bold,italics, and colored emphasis mine]
Terry Paulson, PhD is a psychologist, award-winning professional speaker, author of The Optimism Advantage: 50 Simple Truths to Transform Your Attitudes and Actions into Results, and long-time columnist for the Ventura County Star.