# 1187 (3/31) "The Ind. of the Road for Religious Freedom?"

"The Ind. of the Road for Religious Freedom?" - Tony Perkins,Washington Update, Family Research Council, March 30, 2015;  http://www.frc.org/washingtonupdate/20150330/the-ind-of-road

Indiana is more than the "crossroads of America" -- it's the crossroads of the entire religious liberty debate. The Left made sure of that, fabricating all kinds of baseless outrage over the state's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). What started out as a harmless affirmation of the First Amendment turned into a blow-up of national proportions -- with "truth optional" journalism leading the way.

Unfortunately for Governor Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the hysteria started well before last Thursday, when he officially inked the bill into law. Instead, the Left's propaganda machine has been out in full force all month, working to deceive people into believing that this measure will somehow give Christians the ability to "discriminate."

Nothing, Governor Pence said Sunday, could be further from the truth. "There's been shameless rhetoric about my state and about this law and about its intention all over the Internet. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act has been on the books for more than 20 years. It does not apply to disputes between individuals unless government action is involved. And in point of fact, in more than two decades, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act has never been used to undermine anti-discrimination laws in this country."

Like most states, Indiana doesn't think the federal or state governments should force Americans to violate their faith. Is that controversial? The media seems to think so. They believe -- as the President does -- that surrendering your beliefs is just the price of doing business.

"Is tolerance a two-way street or not?" Governor Pence fired back on ABC's "This Week." "There's a lot of talk about tolerance in this country today having to do with people on the Left," Pence said. "But here Indiana steps forward to protect the constitutional rights and privileges of freedom of religion for people of faith and families of faith in our state, and this avalanche of intolerance that has been poured on our state is just outrageous."

Meanwhile, companies from Angie's List to the NCAA are either intent on strong-arming Christians or too lazy to get the facts, because both are threatening to pull out of Indiana if it won't allow the bullying of believers to continue. But here's the irony: if these companies refuse to do business with people who protect religious liberty, then they'll have to stop doing business with the federal government -- because thanks to President Bill Clinton, it has the same law! In fact, the legislation was such a political no-brainer in 1993 that it had only three dissenters in all of Congress. Now, after 22 years, we're supposed to believe that it's suddenly turned into a weapon for prejudice?

As President Clinton himself said, "(O)ne of the reasons (the Founders) worked so hard to get the First Amendment into the Bill of Rights at the head of the class is that they well understood what could happen to this country, how both religion and Government could be perverted if there were not some space created and some protection provided. They knew that religion helps to give our people the character without which a democracy cannot survive. They knew that there needed to be a space of freedom between Government and people of faith that otherwise Government might usurp."

And usurp it, government has. We've watched with horror as Christian bakers lose their shops over same-sex "weddings," Catholic nuns are forced to sue for the right not to cover birth control, and Mormon policemen are fired for not doing enough to celebrate gay pride. Times have changed, shrugged White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. In not so many words, he argued that the government's interest in religious liberty was "so 20 years ago." When reporters brought up the Democrats' support for RFRAs (including state senator Barack Obama's!), Earnest fired back, "If you have to go back two decades to try to justify something that you're doing today, it may raise some questions about the wisdom of what you're doing." It is true that under President Obama, religious liberty is a thing of the past. But thank goodness states like Indiana aren't content to keep it that way. We stand with them -- and any state -- determined to treat Christians and other people of faith with the same tolerance the Left demands for itself. 

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

You can join us in standing with Governor Pence by signing our petition of support -- go to > https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?c=CHECKOUT&dmy=7029418F-DD52-DC7F-DB1EBF7D84EC9F8D&srcItem=PT15C03&fromItem=PT15C03&CFID=63714713&CFTOKEN=318b47892adb1c32-70293A97-B128-C4DF-B7CDA5D7CD205C55

# 1186 (3/30) "Being Mocked: The Essence of Christ's Work, Not Mohammed's"

 ATTENTION: Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE BRIGHT BLUE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)

Urgent Petition: Defend Christians - Defeat ISIS.
 Go to http://aclj.org/jihad/say-no-to-a-third-term-of-president-obamas-failed-foreign-policy?view=donFrmB&utm_expid=7567081-8.vdNbXkfzQUyJhpww3WXtYQ.1&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=

Walk for Life/Crisis Pregnancy Center - HELP STILL NEEDED. As I've mentioned, while the Walk for Life is now past (and I had people enable to reach 141% of my goal!), the pregnancy center I was helping fell several thousand dollars short of their goal. And so, if you have not given and would consider helping - as possibly the one financial gift you made toward helping girls and women who might otherwise choose abortion - than I would encourage you to go to the following website and make the most generous contribution you can before April 13. THANK YOU! (3/23 - I just got word that two long time friends who already give towards another pregnancy center made a contribution.)
Go to:  http://www.fundeasy.com/m/2190867/

PRAYER MATTERS:

"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth

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) Short of that, we should not be saying "God Bless America"but instead "God be merciful towards America!"

Feb. 24th - Rev. Franklin Graham delivered this insight to his Facebook friends yesterday, "I do know that the president defends Islam and chastises Christians, rebukes our allies and befriends our enemies, and fully supports gay marriages and abortion but denies the religious freedoms of those who don't agree. Our nation is ridiculed abroad and morally crumbling within. We are in trouble. We have turned our back on God."

Supreme Court To Decide on Same-Sex "Marriage" - Upon hearing a case dealing with this issue in April, the Court will be poised to render a decision that will impact the entire country, much as the Roe v Wade decision did 42 years ago. The Court could in effect MAKE law rather than interpret law as it is sworn to do. PRAY that there will be enough justices to exercise judicial restraint instead when the decision is revealed in June


NEW CONGRESS IN SESSION:  Let's be praying that the newly formed Congress will not just offer more effective opposition to the President but that together the two branches of government will find a way to pass legislation and enact policies that will benefit America today and future generations. 

World-Wide Prayer Requests:
Feb. 25 - Urgent Prayer: "US Missionary Held for $300K Ransom in Nigeria" - CBNNews.com, February 25, 2015;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2015/February/US-Missionary-Held-for-Ransom-in-Nigeria----/ "Phyllis Sortor, an American missionary in Nigeria, has been abducted from the Hope Academy compound in Emiworo, Kogi State. Nigerian police say her captors are asking for $300,000 in ransom. The Free Methodist Church, Sortor's sponsoring denomination, reports that the U.S. State Department and FBI are working with Nigerian authorities to find and rescue her. Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria and most victims are returned unharmed. It's also possible that the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram is involved, although it operates mainly in the northeastern corner of Nigeria and Sotor was kidnapped in the central part of the country..."
 Save Christian Mom Asia Bibi from Execution - A Christian mom has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for her faith. Asia Bibi was falsely accused of “blasphemy” – speaking against the prophet Muhammad. Now this wife and mother of five will hang for her Christian faith.She would be the first woman executed under Pakistan’s Shariah blasphemy law.This is the ultimate human rights violation. We’re mobilizing our international affiliate – the European Centre for Law and Justice – and its partner in Pakistan to stop this atrocity. Add your name to our letter to the government of Pakistan demanding Asia Bibi’s freedom.Go to http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/save-christian-mom-asia-bibi-from-execution; please add your signature to mine and over 35,000 others AND pray for Asia Bibi.

Friday, Sept. 26th - Two Year Anniversary of  Pastor Saeed Abedini's Imprisonment in Iran! - [NOTE TODAY'S POST!]

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. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign] 

"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/  "..An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted...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

Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.

PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that allied forces will be able to drive the group ISIS back (see post #964)

/PRAYER ALERT- UKRAINE: 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.

*That President Obama would use wisdom in crafting our  foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.

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.

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"Being Mocked: The Essence of Christ's Work, Not Mohammed's" - by John Piper, Desiring God - March 16; Website: www.desiringGod.org. 

What we saw in the Islamic demonstrations over the Danish cartoons of Muhammad was another vivid depiction of the difference between Muhammad and Christ, and what it means to follow each. Not all Muslims approve the violence. But a deep lesson remains: The work of Muhammad is based on being honored and the work of Christ is based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to mockery.

If Christ had not been insulted, there would be no salvation. This was his saving work: to be insulted and die to rescue sinners from the wrath of God. Already in the Psalms the path of mockery was promised: "All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads" (Psalm 22:7). "He was despised and rejected by men . . . as one from whom men hide their faces . . . and we esteemed him not" (Isaiah 53:3).

When it actually happened it was worse than expected. "They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head. . . . And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' And they spit on him" (Matthew 27:28-30). His response to all this was patient endurance. This was the work he came to do. "Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).

This was not true of Muhammad. And Muslims do not believe it is true of Jesus. Most Muslims have been taught that Jesus was not crucified. One Sunni Muslim writes, "Muslims believe that Allah saved the Messiah from the ignominy of crucifixion."1 Another adds, "We honor [Jesus] more than you [Christians] do... We refuse to believe that God would permit him to suffer death on the cross."2 An essential Muslim impulse is to avoid the "ignominy" of the cross.

That's the most basic difference between Christ and Muhammad and between a Muslim and a follower of Christ. For Christ, enduring the mockery of the cross was the essence of his mission. And for a true follower of Christ enduring suffering patiently for the glory of Christ is the essence of obedience. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account" (Matthew 5:11). During his life on earth Jesus was called a bastard (John 8:41), a drunkard (Matthew 11:19), a blasphemer (Matthew 26:65), a devil (Matthew 10:25); and he promised his followers the same: "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household" (Matthew 10:25).

The caricature and mockery of Christ has continued to this day. Martin Scorsese portrayed Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ as wracked with doubt and beset with sexual lust. Andres Serrano was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts to portray Jesus on a cross sunk in a bottle of urine. The Da Vinci Code portrays Jesus as a mere mortal who married and fathered children.

How should his followers respond? On the one hand, we are grieved and angered. On the other hand, we identify with Christ, and embrace his suffering, and rejoice in our afflictions, and say with the apostle Paul that vengeance belongs to the Lord, let us love our enemies and win them with the gospel. If Christ did his work by being insulted, we must do ours likewise.

When Muhammad was portrayed in twelve cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, the uproar across the Muslim world was intense and sometimes violent. Flags were burned, embassies were torched, and at least one Christian church was stoned. The cartoonists went into hiding in fear for their lives, like Salman Rushdie before them. What does this mean?

It means that a religion with no insulted Savior will not endure insults to win the scoffers. It means that this religion is destined to bear the impossible load of upholding the honor of one who did not die and rise again to make that possible. It means that Jesus Christ is still the only hope of peace with God and peace with man. And it means that his followers must be willing to "share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10).

1 Badru D. Kateregga and David W. Shenk, Islam and Christianity: A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue (Nairobi: Usima Press, 1980), p. 141.
2 Quoted from The Muslim World in J. Dudley Woodberry, editor, Muslims and Christians on the Emmaus Road (Monrovia, CA: MARC, 1989), p.164.
By John Piper. © Desiring God. 

# 1185 (3/29) SUNDAY SPECIAL: "Passover and Good Friday"

"Passover and Good Friday" - Jerry Newcombe | Mar 25, 2015; http://townhall.com/columnists/jerrynewcombe/2015/03/25/passover-and-good-friday-n1975546/page/full

There is a great hunger to be forgiven---it is a universal need.

In the classic book by Karl Menninger of the Menninger Clinic, Whatever Became of Sin?, he described a situation where a mime on the busy sidewalks of Chicago would point at a total stranger and yell out “Guilty!” Amazingly, the reaction of most of the strangers was to slink away, as if to say, “How did you know?”

We all instinctively know that things are not right between us and the universe. There is a name for that, and it is sin. Sin is what is wrong with this world. But sin has been dealt with in a decisive way.

Soon another Good Friday will be upon us. This is the Christian Day of Atonement. This is the Passover to us, just as that original Good Friday coincided with the Passover. Before a holy God, none of us can stand without condemnation---in our natural state. This is why God sent Jesus, His only begotten Son, to die in our place---to bring salvation for those who believe in Him.

Centuries before Jesus came, God instituted through Moses an elaborate system of sacrifice of animals. From a Christian perspective, all of those sacrifices were foreshadows of Jesus’ once- and-for-all sacrifice on Calvary.

One of the great pictures of Christ’s redemption is the Passover---because the ancient Hebrews were instructed to take the blood of a lamb without blemish and smear it on the top and two sides of the entrance to their homes---in essence forming the sign of the cross. The angel of death would “pass over” the homes where the blood had been smeared, sparing the occupants. People were either covered by the blood of the lamb or they were not.

Christ is the ultimate Passover Lamb who was slain for our sins. When John the Baptist, the great forerunner of Jesus, who prepared the way for the Lord, first saw Jesus, he famously said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” In Latin, Lamb of God is Agnus Dei.

Often in cathedrals, you can see the image of a lamb with a cross---sometimes that cross is like a flag. That is the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God.

Years ago I interviewed a Jewish believer in Jesus, Murray Tillis of Atlanta. He came to believe in Jesus as His Jewish Messiah and has founded Light of Messiah Ministries. He told me, “As I read Psalm 22 [written c. 1000 B.C.] for the very first time as a Jewish person, I was shocked that this writer, David, who is writing long before Jesus ever came and long before crucifixion was ever even a known method or means of execution, he was describing the crucifixion of Jesus.” The opening line of this psalm was something Jesus quoted on the cross: “My God, my God, Why hast Thou forsaken Me?”

I asked Murray about Jesus and the Passover. He said, “The meal on the night He was betrayed was a Passover meal. Jesus said to His disciples, ‘I earnestly desire to eat this meal with you.’” That Last Supper, of course, was the celebration of the Passover. Says Murray: “It was within the context of a Passover Seder or Order of Service, where Jesus, sitting around the table with His disciples, was going through the Order of Service that Jewish people were very familiar with then and are very familiar with today---an order that consists of four cups, the cup of blessing, the cup of plagues, the cup of redemption, and then the cup of praise.”

Tillis adds, “The cup of redemption comes directly after the meal. In fact, in the New Testament, we read that Jesus took the cup after the meal. That was the cup of redemption…He raised that cup up, He looked at His disciples, and He said, ‘This is my blood which is shed for you.’”

And so in one sense, Passover and communion become one. Murray continues: “And then He took the unleavened bread, symbolic of sinlessness or sinless nature, broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is broken for you.’”

Murray Tillis concludes: “And so, within the context of this Passover meal, Jesus was saying to His disciples, ‘My blood is going to be shed for you. I am going to be crucified for you. I am the Passover Lamb. And because of that blood, death will pass over you, as well.’”

It is His blood that is the key to forgiveness. It is His blood, received by faith, that washes away guilt. Happy Holy Week.

Dr. Jerry Newcombe is a key archivist of the D. James Kennedy Legacy Library and a Christian TV producer.

# 1184 (3/28) "The Life and Death of Baby Walter is Changing The Abortion Debate"

"The Life and Death of Baby Walter is Changing The Abortion Debate" - NANCY FLANDERS,  MAR 26, 2015 / http://www.lifenews.com/2015/03/26/the-life-and-death-of-baby-walter-is-changing-the-abortion-debate/

(LiveActionNews) — It took a long time for Michayla, age seven, to deal with the loss of her baby brother, Walter. Michayla still proudly speaks of him, telling strangers that she has two sisters here, and a baby brother in heaven.

Baby Walter with his mother, Lexi. Images courtesy of F2 Photography by Lexi.

At 19 weeks gestation, Michayla’s mother, Lexi Fretz, miscarried Walter. At the time, Fretz, her husband, Joshua, and their two daughters were hundreds of miles away from home. They had traveled for a wedding where they were both guests, as well as photographers. Then the unthinkable happened – Fretz went into labor.

Baby Walter may have only lived outside the womb for a few moments, but his life has had a lasting impact. He saved others from abortion, and helped pro-abortion individuals see the preborn as human beings deserving of life. But Walter’s family had to move on with their lives without him, starting with the long trip home.


Having to travel 600 miles home having just given birth, and dealing with traveling kids and postpartum me wasn’t fun,” Fretz said. “And then when I got home, I had lots of support from family and friends, and the community as they found out, too – church and everyone else. We kept on living and trucking along, and doing what we had to do.”

A picture of Walter on Fretz’s Facebook page quickly spread, and she began to pen Walter’s story and the impact of his short life.[http://www.f2photographystudio.com/Family/FRETZ-PERSONAL/Walter-Joshua-Fretz/] Today, well over a million people have seen Walter’s photos.

“It still blows my mind,” Fretz said. “I never expected that when I put those pictures up, or the story up – just seeing how God would use our pain. So many women don’t get the answer to why. Everyone wants to know, Why, God? Why did you do this? Now I know why. I have seen Walter’s purpose. That has helped my husband and I, and our healing.”

People around the world continue to tell the Fretz family that they ended up choosing life for their babies because of Walter. One note that stands out to Lexi is from a woman not too far from home. “There was a lady in a town next to ours who was sitting in an abortion clinic with her daughter,” Fretz said. “She was ready to go through with it. She said the whole time, she was thinking she shouldn’t be doing this. She went online while she was sitting there, and she saw Walter, and she started to cry – and they got up and left.”

While Walter’s photos made their way across the globe, Fretz discovered she was expecting another child.  She was thrilled, but the pregnancy had some frightful moments. Fretz was diagnosed with an incompetent cervix, which can lead to premature labor. She had surgery at 13 weeks gestation to place a permanent band around her cervix, and it was a success. This fall, the Fretz family welcomed their third daughter into the world. Mia, now nearly seven months old, joins Emma and Michayla.

“They were thrilled to find out about Mia,” Fretz said. “We bought a cake, and my husband had [the baker] write ‘baby’ on the top, and our oldest was just starting to read. It clicked, and her face lit up. They were ecstatic. They would come up, rub my belly and say, ‘Mommy, I hope this baby doesn’t die’.” The Fretz family’s lives are full of the color pink, plenty of glitter, and princesses – and two little girls who are in love with their baby sister. Both girls endured the loss of their brother through difficulty, especially Michayla. They still discuss Walter, and Michayla tells her parents that she misses him and wishes God did not take him away. The girls and their parents are proud of the difference Walter is making.

“For someone who survived so few minutes outside of me, he’s left such an impact, more than I ever could,” Fretz said. “For someone so tiny, he’s touched so many. I hope he keeps educating the world and the masses as to what the preborn looks like on the inside – that it’s not just a blob – it’s not a clump of cells.”

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

LifeNews Note: Nancy is a work at home mom who writes about parenting, special needs children, and the right to life. She is the lucky mother of two spirited little girls, one who has cystic fibrosis, and she spends any free moment she can find fundraising for a cure for CF. You can read her personal blog at www.ChronicAdmissions.com. Reprinted from Live Action News.

# 1183 (3/27) "Busy or Full? - LETTING GOD BE GOD"

 ATTENTION: Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE BRIGHT BLUE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)

Urgent Petition: Defend Christians - Defeat ISIS.
 Go to http://aclj.org/jihad/say-no-to-a-third-term-of-president-obamas-failed-foreign-policy?view=donFrmB&utm_expid=7567081-8.vdNbXkfzQUyJhpww3WXtYQ.1&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=

Walk for Life/Crisis Pregnancy Center - HELP STILL NEEDED. As I've mentioned, while the Walk for Life is now past (and I had people enable to reach 141% of my goal!), the pregnancy center I was helping fell several thousand dollars short of their goal. And so, if you have not given and would consider helping - as possibly the one financial gift you made toward helping girls and women who might otherwise choose abortion - than I would encourage you to go to the following website and make the most generous contribution you can before April 13. THANK YOU! (3/23 - I just got word that two long time friends who already give towards another pregnancy center made a contribution.)
Go to:  http://www.fundeasy.com/m/2190867/

PRAYER MATTERS:

"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth

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) Short of that, we should not be saying "God Bless America"but instead "God be merciful towards America!"

Feb. 24th - Rev. Franklin Graham delivered this insight to his Facebook friends yesterday, "I do know that the president defends Islam and chastises Christians, rebukes our allies and befriends our enemies, and fully supports gay marriages and abortion but denies the religious freedoms of those who don't agree. Our nation is ridiculed abroad and morally crumbling within. We are in trouble. We have turned our back on God."

Supreme Court To Decide on Same-Sex "Marriage" - Upon hearing a case dealing with this issue in April, the Court will be poised to render a decision that will impact the entire country, much as the Roe v Wade decision did 42 years ago. The Court could in effect MAKE law rather than interpret law as it is sworn to do. PRAY that there will be enough justices to exercise judicial restraint instead when the decision is revealed in June


NEW CONGRESS IN SESSION:  Let's be praying that the newly formed Congress will not just offer more effective opposition to the President but that together the two branches of government will find a way to pass legislation and enact policies that will benefit America today and future generations. 

World-Wide Prayer Requests:
Feb. 25 - Urgent Prayer: "US Missionary Held for $300K Ransom in Nigeria" - CBNNews.com, February 25, 2015;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2015/February/US-Missionary-Held-for-Ransom-in-Nigeria----/ "Phyllis Sortor, an American missionary in Nigeria, has been abducted from the Hope Academy compound in Emiworo, Kogi State. Nigerian police say her captors are asking for $300,000 in ransom. The Free Methodist Church, Sortor's sponsoring denomination, reports that the U.S. State Department and FBI are working with Nigerian authorities to find and rescue her. Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria and most victims are returned unharmed. It's also possible that the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram is involved, although it operates mainly in the northeastern corner of Nigeria and Sotor was kidnapped in the central part of the country..."
 Save Christian Mom Asia Bibi from Execution - A Christian mom has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for her faith. Asia Bibi was falsely accused of “blasphemy” – speaking against the prophet Muhammad. Now this wife and mother of five will hang for her Christian faith.She would be the first woman executed under Pakistan’s Shariah blasphemy law.This is the ultimate human rights violation. We’re mobilizing our international affiliate – the European Centre for Law and Justice – and its partner in Pakistan to stop this atrocity. Add your name to our letter to the government of Pakistan demanding Asia Bibi’s freedom.Go to http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/save-christian-mom-asia-bibi-from-execution; please add your signature to mine and over 35,000 others AND pray for Asia Bibi.

Friday, Sept. 26th - Two Year Anniversary of  Pastor Saeed Abedini's Imprisonment in Iran! - [NOTE TODAY'S POST!]

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. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign] 

"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/  "..An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted...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

Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.

PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that allied forces will be able to drive the group ISIS back (see post #964)

/PRAYER ALERT- UKRAINE: 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.

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.

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"Busy or Full? - LETTING GOD BE GOD" - By: John Stonestreet|Published: March 23, 2015/ http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/27072?spMailingID=10939997&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=501456419&spReportId=NTAxNDU2NDE5S0

If you’re like me, you probably often feel guilty when you’re not busy....

Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung tells of a woman visiting the United States from another culture. Soon she was introducing herself as “Busy.” DeYoung says in his book “Crazy Busy,” “It was, after all, the first thing she heard when meeting any American. Hello, I’m busy—she figured it was part of our traditional greeting, so she told everyone she met that’s who she was.”

Now that’s a funny story, but as a card-carrying member of the “crazy busy” club, it hits far too close to home for me … and maybe for you. Scott Dannemiller, a former missionary who blogs at the Huffington Post, admits that “busy is a sickness,” and that he’s a sick man. Once Dannemiller told a friend at the gym that he was “crazy busy,” and his friend asked what was on his schedule, so Scott listed all his planned activities—a church music rehearsal, a basketball game, fixing the kids’ supper, a date night with his wife, and so on. The friend said simply, “Sounds like a full day. Have fun!” Dannemiller resented the response. Didn’t this guy understand just how harried and horrible his life was? The nerve!

But later, he started to think. “I wear busyness like a badge of honor. Most of the time, I manufacture urgency in hopes that it will create urgency in others. Instead, it only creates anxiety, resentment and spite.” And he’s not alone! The American Psychological Association’s says that a majority of Americans acknowledge that their stress levels exceed what’s necessary for good health. The number one reason they cite—you guessed it—they’re too busy.

Now there are those seasons of life when busyness is beyond our control, such as having to work two or three jobs to make ends meet while taking care of our other life responsibilities.
But far too often our busyness is chosen. It’s a cultural habit that we’ve all acquired.

“In America, we are defined by what we do,” Dannemiller says. “Our careers. What we produce. It’s the first question we ask at parties, and often the first tidbit of information we share with strangers. The implication is if I’m not busy doing something, I am somehow less than. Not worthy. Or at least worth less than those who are producing something.” That’s a lie straight from hell, isn’t it?

Friends, it is good to be diligent and productive, of course. But it’s also necessary to rest. Think of Jesus. Sometimes He ministered late into the night, preaching and healing. His days were full. But other times, He withdrew, in order to pray and to rest.

Remember that story in which Mary was “wasting time” at the feet of Jesus instead of helping Martha? “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered the complaining sister, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—and indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

My colleague Stan Guthrie once attended InterVarsity’s Urbana student missions conference where one of the speakers shared a very important lesson with these idealistic and eager college students: “Sleep is spiritual!” he said. And he was right; it is spiritual. Try serving the Lord without sleep.

Of course, it’s more than just a physical issue. It’s a worldview issue. We commonly suffer from this illusion that we are in control. We have a hard time putting our heads on the pillow when we forget that God is God and that we are not. As the Psalmist says, we need to be still and know that God is God. Do we trust Him enough to slow down?

So let’s trade our busyness for fullness. As Paul said, let’s abound in the Lord’s work, knowing that our labor, and our rest, are not in vain.

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION
Crazy Busy - Kevin DeYoung | Good News / Crossway Books | September 2013
Addicted to Busy - Brady Boyd| David C. Cook Publishers | August 2014
"Busy Is a Sickness" - Scott Dannemiller | Huffington Post | February 27, 2015; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-dannemiller/busy-is-a-sickness_b_6761264.html

# 1182 (3/26) "Military Rifles through Transgender Policy"

"Military Rifles through Transgender Policy" - Tony Perkins, Washington Update, Family Research Council. March 25, 2015; http://www.frc.org/washingtonupdate/20150325/military-rifles [AS I SEE IT: For a good while now, my daily prayers for the military has begun with asking God to give us military leaders with wisdom, integrity, accountability, and who are Spirit-filled. I've asked God to cause them to stand up to the politically correct pressures being placed on them - by the homosexual lobby, the feminists, and the atheists. PRAISE GOD, there seems to be some movement to push back on these things that have continued to attack not just the morale but the safety and effectiveness of our troops. Let's be praying for these leaders who are standing up to only increase, no matter what the professional cost to them! Sadly, their courage - having already been tested on the battle field - must now be tested on the home front. - Stan  (P.S. - I do have to wonder - as have many over the years - whether our President is not just trying to push a leftist agenda but if he just doesn't like our military and wants to hurt it; after all, I believe the majority are not known to have voted for him in his 2 elections. Nah! That would just mean he's petulant.)]

When it comes to his latest military maneuver, the President isn't asking -- but leaders are telling their concerns. Military officials may finally be saying, "enough!" to the President's radical social policies. 

Last month, it looked like the commander-in-chief might finally have a partner in his social experiment, new Defense Secretary Ash Carter. Barely four weeks into the job, the Pentagon's latest boss said he was on board with the President's last military makeover: lifting the ban on open transgenderism. "I don't think anything but their suitability for service should preclude them," Carter told reporters late last month. "I'm very open-minded about (it)..."

Fortunately for Americans, most senior military leaders aren't. And according to sources, they aren't shy about saying so. In the days after Carter's bombshell, "defense officials say several members of his top brass told Carter later that they had serious reservations." They're pushing back with a vengeance, the Associated Press explains -- but only on the condition of anonymity. And considering what's happened to Chaplain Wes Modder, Master Sergeant Phillip Monk, Chaplain Joseph Lawhorn, and others, it's no wonder.

The military is its own cultural landmine these days, as the administration inches closer to its goal of fundamentally transforming the last great bastion of American exceptionalism. Worried it could cost them their careers, most leaders are fighting back quietly for now. Like us, their greatest concerns are a repeat of the distractions that happened after the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" -- a top-to-bottom disaster that continues to syphon away resources and attention from the mission at hand.

While morale falls like a brick, sexual assaults and suicides are through the roof. Meanwhile, the one comfort our brave men and women used to have -- their faith -- is being wrenched from their hands and driven out of the service. And what is the President's solution to this mess? More chaos.

Military leaders are right to be concerned. Apart from their practical concerns -- bathrooms, showers, housing, and uniforms -- there is also the very legitimate concern about these service members' instability. Despite how casually the White House seems to treat the matter, these are serious and complex issues that directly affect the national security of the United States. Let's not forget -- transsexualism is at its root a serious mental disorder (one classified as such by the military's own Defense Department!). If these men and women are confused about their gender, what's to keep them from being confused about their mission? The battlefield has enough turmoil; our President should know better than to introduce more. Thank goodness for military officials who are willing to stand up and speak out. If their men and women are willing to put their lives on the line for us, the least these leaders can do is put their stars on the line for them.

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

# 1181 (3/25) "Kara Tippetts' Last Battle"

"Kara Tippetts' Last Battle - A LIFE AND DEATH WORTH REMEMBERING" - By: John Stonestreet|Published: March 24, 2015; http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/27080?spMailingID=10968266&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=501739197&spReportId=NTAxNzM5MTk3S0

God often uses the lives of others to teach us. And He uses death to teach us, too. We have much to learn from the life and death of Kara Tippetts.

On Sunday night, I shared a special conversation with my children about the final book in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series. These books are family favorites of ours, and what prompted this particular discussion was the occasion of my oldest daughter finishing her first solo read through “The Last Battle.”

It was one of those conversations I treasure with my kids. We talked about how the Pevensie children find themselves, after their death, in the truest of all Narnias, and how Lewis imagines in this fullest and truest Narnia the biblical picture of the new heaven and new earth that we read about in John’s Revelation. We talked about those incredible lines from “The Last Battle,” like “further up and further in” which the characters repeat to each other over and over, and how Queen Lucy, after marveling that the dark stable was actually the doorway to this newer, fuller Narnia, says, "In our world, too, a Stable once held something inside it that was bigger than our whole world.”

And we talked about Aslan’s conversation with the Calormene soldier, and how, as much as I love that conversation, I think Lewis got this one wrong. Now if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’ll just have to read it for yourself. But only, of course, if you’ve read the other books first.

A few hours later, long after my girls were safely tucked in their beds, I thought of another line in “The Last Battle.” It happened when I read that the lovely and grace-filled Kara Tippetts had gone home to be with Jesus. We talked of Kara and her battle with terminal cancer just recently on BreakPoint. In the midst of dying, Kara (a pastor’s wife and a mother of young children) decided to share her struggle with others. Hundreds of thousands of people began to follow her story, and her book, appropriately titled “The Hardest Peace,” became a best seller. Her life encouraged and influenced countless other people.

Though the Tippetts family lives, as I do, in Colorado Springs and though we have many, many mutual friends, I never had the privilege of meeting Kara face to face. She did, though, graciously agree to talk with me on “BreakPoint This Week” after she had reached out to another terminally ill woman, Brittany Maynard. You may recall that Brittany made national headlines when she moved from California to Oregon and announced her decision to end her own life through physician-assisted suicide.

Kara pleaded with Brittany to reconsider, clarifying how meaning can be found in suffering through Christ, whose suffering brought the promise of eternal life. In the way she chose to live her life, love her family, and foster intentional friendship with so many around her, Kara Tippetts bravely embodied these words that she wrote to Brittany.

Kara’s life and death also embody these words from Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Death is hell and night and cold, if it is not transformed by our faith. But that is just what is so marvelous, that we can transform death.” In Christ, Kara transformed her dying into a living message, not only for Brittany Maynard, but for all of us.

If you don’t know about Kara’s story, visit her blog “Mundane Faithfulness.” [see below] There, Kara allowed us to walk through her suffering and struggles at such an intimate, yet Christ-filled, level. And pick up her book “The Hardest Peace.” 

So what now? For her family, especially for her husband and four children, let us plead to the God of all grace for His comfort and that, in His love, they would find that Hard Peace Kara was able to find, even as they mourn. And let us give. A fund has been set up for her children, see address below.

And as I think of Kara, I’m reminded of another line, the last line from “The Last Battle”: “now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION
Kara Tippetts' Last Battle: A Life and Death Worth Remembering - "According to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death." (Philippians 1:20)
Mundane Faithfulness - Kara Tippetts' blog - http://www.mundanefaithfulness.com/home/2015/3/22/homecoming
The Hardest Peace: Expecting Grace in the Midst of Life's Hard - 
Kara Tippets | David C. Cook Publishers | October 2014
"BreakPoint This Week: Life, Suffering and Dignity: An Interview with Kara Tippets" - John Stonestreet | BreakPoint.org | November 7, 2014; http://www.breakpoint.org/features-columns/discourse/entry/15/26375
The Chronicles of Narnia, set - C. S. Lewis | HarperCollins Publishers

Donations to a fund benefiting the Tippetts children can be mailed to: Jason Tippetts, P.O. Box 49727, Colorado Springs, CO 80949.

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"Woman Who Wrote Pleading Letter to Brittany Maynard Has Died. With Dignity." - Katrina Trinko / @KatrinaTrinko / March 23, 2015 / http://dailysignal.com/2015/03/23/woman-who-wrote-pleading-letter-to-brittany-maynard-has-died-with-dignity/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailydigest&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRoisqzNZKXonjHpfsX56eguXa%2B3lMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4HS8tkI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrLBMa1ozrgOWxU%3D [NOTE: For some great Instagram pictures, please go to the weblink for this article. Also, please visit her blog (address at end of this article). You will be moved by her personal testimony. - Stan]

# 1180 (3/24) "How Much Will Each American’s Share of the National Debt Grow to Be?"

"How Much Will Each American’s Share of the National Debt Grow to Be?" - Romina Boccia / @RominaBoccia / March 16, 2015; http://dailysignal.com/2015/03/16/how-much-will-each-americans-share-of-the-national-debt-grow-to-be/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailydigest&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRoivKnNZKXonjHpfsX56eguXa%2B3lMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4HSsRlI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrLBMa1ozrgOWxU%3D [AS I SEE IT: When you look at the graphic below, note the significant upsurge in our debt that has occurred since President Obama took office. He has not signed any budget that has actually reduced the debt and we are now on an upsurge unimaginable before he entered office. This graph illustrates how our leaders must act very soon or we are digging ourselves our hole that will be impossible for future Americans to do so. Then, will America still belong to Americans?  - Stan]

Today, on March 16, the debt limit returned at $18.1 trillion in total national debt. The largest share of this debt—$13 trillion—comes out to $41,000 for every individual living in the U.S. today.

This debt is called the public debt, which means that the government has sold this debt in credit markets to investors in the U.S. and abroad, including China, Japan and European nation countries. The remaining $5 trillion of national debt are debt the government has borrowed from dedicated trust funds, like the Social Security trust fund.

Children born in the U.S. this year would see their share of the public debt burden grow by more than $100,000, to top $142,000, by the time they graduate from college if Congress fails to solve the spending and debt crisis.

Staying on the current fiscal course is deeply irresponsible towards the next generation. Extensive research shows that excessive debt burdens harm job growth and reduce Americans’ personal incomes. Unless America changes course soon, the next generation will inherit a massive national debt and a less prosperous nation.

Check out the 2015 Federal Budget in Pictures for more charts on spending, debt, and taxes today! [http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/]

"The Breakdown of Where Your Tax Dollars Go" - Romina Boccia/ March 17, 2015; http://dailysignal.com/2015/03/17/the-breakdown-of-where-your-tax-dollars-go/
"House Conservatives Cite Obamacare Repeal as ‘Motivating Reason’ for Supporting GOP Budget" - Melissa Quinn / @MelissaQuinn97 / March 17, 2015; http://dailysignal.com/2015/03/17/house-conservatives-cite-obamacare-repeal-as-motivating-reason-for-supporting-gop-budget/

#1179 (3/23) "Obama Takes His Rage to World Stage"

"Obama Takes His Rage to World Stage" - David Limbaugh | Mar 20, 2015; http://townhall.com/columnists/davidlimbaugh/2015/03/20/obama-takes-his-rage-to-world-stage-n1973394/page/full

Why is The New York Times lamenting the souring of the personal relationship between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instead of assuming Obama will subordinate his personal feelings to America's national interest? Well, probably because they know he won't. He's a man scorned -- and he's getting more and more dangerous. Scorned? Yes, because when you don't bow to the wishes of a man with his personality, he apparently takes it as a personal affront.

That's why we read in Politico, "In the wake of Netanyahu's decisive reelection, the Obama administration is revisiting longtime assumptions about America's role as a shield for Israel against international pressure." You want to know why? Well, let's let the article speak for itself. It continues, "Angered by Netanyahu's hardline platform toward the Palestinians, top Obama officials would not rule out the possibility of a change in American posture at the United Nations, where the U.S. has historically fended off resolutions hostile to Israel."

What, exactly, is this hardline approach that enrages Obama so much that he's willing to punish America's best ally in the region? It is simply that Netanyahu took a strong stance against the establishment of a Palestinian state. Why would he do that?

Well, how about because Palestinians want to extinguish the state of Israel? How about because it would endanger Israel's national security and very survival? How about because of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's formation of a unity government with Hamas in June and his efforts, in December, to have the Palestinian Authority become part of the criminal court? Are these reasons enough?

Why should Obama presume to judge Netanyahu on that? Moreover, how could he possibly take this personally? Because that's the prism through which he views the world. It's all about him.

That's why Obama was outraged when Netanyahu chose to speak to Congress about the Iranian nuclear threat, which Obama continues to ignore -- or, arguably, enable. That's why he refused to meet with Netanyahu when he was in Washington for that speech -- again, putting his petty feelings above our national interests. And that's also why he has yet to pick up the telephone to call Netanyahu to congratulate him for his electoral victory this week. Incidentally, I believe that's also why he sent the Churchill bust back to the Brits. It's about him and his feelings, our relationship with ally Britain be damned.

Be fair. No other president has behaved like this. So don't defend it.

Obama had the audacity to accuse Netanyahu of partisanship for accepting the invitation to speak to Congress. It was Obama who overtly injected partisanship into that visit, by smearing Netanyahu with false charges of partisanship and attempting -- outrageously -- to defeat him in his reelection efforts by dispatching his political operatives to Israel. Do I have proof that Obama dispatched those operatives? Not direct proof. Do I have proof that they had his blessing? He didn't lift a finger to stop them when he could have, did he?

There is also the fact that Obama is conspicuously taking Netanyahu's victory as his own personal defeat. Beyond dissing him with no congratulatory call, he is issuing stern, hostile statements.

One administration official said, "The positions taken by the prime minister in the last days of the campaign have raised very significant substantive questions that go far beyond just optics." The official would not rule out America withdrawing its traditional support of Israel in issues before the United Nations.

Jeremy Ben-Ami, described by Politico as "president of the left-leaning pro-Israel group J Street," said, "I do think the administration is going to look very closely at the possibility of either joining, or at least not blocking an internationally backed move at the U.N. to restate the parameters for ending the conflict. Netanyahu's campaign statements (opposing a Palestinian state), added Ben-Ami, "make it a lot easier for the administration to justify going down a more international route."

Are you getting this? Obama is considering punitive action against Israel because its prime minister, looking out for his nation's security, would not cow to his demands. This, despite the fact that the Israeli people overwhelmingly agreed with Netanyahu, as they delivered him and his party a landslide victory.

Capping it all off, White House press secretary Josh Earnest unleashed on Netanyahu for allegedly damaging Israel's democracy and undermining America's relationship with Israel. Pot/kettle?

It gets worse. Earnest said the "administration is deeply concerned by the divisive rhetoric that seeks to marginalize Arab-Israeli citizens." Obama is wagging his finger at others for divisive rhetoric -- in the very process, no less, of issuing his own.

Still more outrageous, Earnest has said of the U.S. and Israel that "one of the things that binds our countries together so closely is our shared values," but "these kinds of cynical, divisive Election Day tactics stand in direct conflict to those values." What pumpkin truck do these people think we fell off of? Please tell me what "shared values" this administration has with Israel.

Is there any question whose side Obama is on anymore? Has he ever rebuked the Palestinians or any enemies of Israel for wishing or acting on its destruction?

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

David Limbaugh,, is an expert on law and politics. He recently authored the New York Times best-selling book: "Jesus on Trial: A Lawyer Affirms the Truth of the Gospel."

# 1178 (3/22) SUNDAY SPECIAL: "The Challenge: Pruning our Lives"

"The Challenge: Pruning our Lives" - Rebecca Hagelin | Mar 20, 2015; http://townhall.com/columnists/rebeccahagelin/2015/03/20/the-challenge-pruning-our-lives-n1973274/page/full

Jesus often taught through metaphors and parables, using tangible truths to shed light on spiritual matters. It makes sense that he taught this way, not simply because physical things are easier to understand, but because God patterned the world so we can look for and discover His truth everywhere we turn.

One of Jesus’ most recognizable metaphors is one he shared with his disciples at the last supper, on the eve of his crucifixion. His image of a gardener at work can be found in John 15. It begins, “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener…”

A vinedresser constantly watches over his vineyard, cutting away and pruning branches as they grow and decay and harvesting the fruit as it ripens. But though his care is constant, the dormant season just before spring is reserved for heavy pruning—when the gardener cuts away drastically to ready the vine for new growth. Just before Jesus goes to the cross, he tells them about this; this cutting away that is necessary if believers are to grow in the new life he is about to die to offer them.

Here in the northern hemisphere, the Lenten season lines up with this pruning season. It’s the time when many Christians concentrate as a community on repentance, allowing God to prune the church, making it ready for the growth that breaks through as the Easter sun rises after a long winter. If you have neglected to examine your own life and allow Christ to prune what is harmful and painful from your heart, mind and soul, it's not too late to make room for new joy and growth to take place in your life!

Jesus said, “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” Pruning is absolutely necessary for a good harvest. Vinedressers cut away the tangled, useless, dead branches that suffocate and disrupt growth. They cut away branches to prevent disease from infecting and destroying the crop. They prune to direct growth in the right direction, and they prune to make the fruit grow bigger and sweeter.

He continued, “You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.” His message—the words, laws and teachings of God—are his cutting tool. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” His word is the tool that cuts to remove the dying branches, but it’s also the tool that cuts to bring life and health. It’s one tool with two effects—life to one and death to the other.

The Hope: Live in Christ - So what determines which branches produce fruit and benefit from the cutting and which branches fail to produce fruit and are cut away? As Jesus continued, he answered that question. The Message translation of his words explains it beautifully. It says, “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire.” Christians and non-Christians alike are prone to try to be productive and to try to find life on their own, apart from Jesus, apart from the vine. And when we fail to believe that life can only be found in him, we begin to wither.

Then God’s sharp words fall upon us and cut off every withered part. When we come in contact with them, they either prune us, restoring us to health and faith; or find us entirely dead already and then we fall away. But even then hope isn’t lost—God has the power to bring dead branches back to life. Romans 11:23 says, “If they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.”

The point is that God’s sharp and powerful words, His wisdom, laws and teachings only improve our lives when they find us alive—attached to Jesus through faith, receiving his power. When His words find us this way, the pruning that looks like conviction, repentance and the cutting away of doubt and sin is something to desire rather than fear.

When you find yourself discouraged or struggling with sin—that underlying unbelief that tempts you to try to find life on your own—the solution is always to remain in the vine. You do this by keeping “your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” (Hebrews 12:1-3, MSG).

Your faith in Jesus is what will keep you in the vine, and 2 Peter 1:5-11 lists out actions you can take to strengthen your faith. It says to supplement it with:

1. “Moral excellence”— deliberately do good to others and keep a clear conscience
2. “Knowledge”—study scripture.
3. “Self-control”—practice spiritual disciplines.
4. “Patient endurance”—remain strong in the face of adversity.
5. “Godliness”—devote yourself to God each day.
6. “Brotherly affection”—find encouragement in Christian community.
7. “Love for everyone”—try to see others as God sees them.
“The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be” (2 Peter 1:8).

May we all grow with new, powerful and impactful lives in Christ this Spring!

 [bold and italics emphasis mine]
Rebecca Hagelin is a public speaker on the family and culture and the author of the new best seller, 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family. 

# 1177 (3/30) "She Worked for Years at an Abortion Clinic Until Something Made Her Quit for Good"

 ATTENTION: Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE BRIGHT BLUE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)

Urgent Petition: Defend Christians - Defeat ISIS.
 Go to http://aclj.org/jihad/say-no-to-a-third-term-of-president-obamas-failed-foreign-policy?view=donFrmB&utm_expid=7567081-8.vdNbXkfzQUyJhpww3WXtYQ.1&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=

Walk for Life/Crisis Pregnancy Center - HELP STILL NEEDED. As I've mentioned, while the Walk for Life is now past (and I had people enable to reach 141% of my goal!), the pregnancy center I was helping fell several thousand dollars short of their goal. And so, if you have not given and would consider helping - as possibly the one financial gift you made toward helping girls and women who might otherwise choose abortion - than I would encourage you to go to the following website and make the most generous contribution you can before April 13. THANK YOU! (3/23 - I just got word that two long time friends who already give towards another pregnancy center made a contribution.)
Go to:  http://www.fundeasy.com/m/2190867/

PRAYER MATTERS:

"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth

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) Short of that, we should not be saying "God Bless America"but instead "God be merciful towards America!"

Feb. 24th - Rev. Franklin Graham delivered this insight to his Facebook friends yesterday, "I do know that the president defends Islam and chastises Christians, rebukes our allies and befriends our enemies, and fully supports gay marriages and abortion but denies the religious freedoms of those who don't agree. Our nation is ridiculed abroad and morally crumbling within. We are in trouble. We have turned our back on God."

Supreme Court To Decide on Same-Sex "Marriage" - Upon hearing a case dealing with this issue in April, the Court will be poised to render a decision that will impact the entire country, much as the Roe v Wade decision did 42 years ago. The Court could in effect MAKE law rather than interpret law as it is sworn to do. PRAY that there will be enough justices to exercise judicial restraint instead when the decision is revealed in June


NEW CONGRESS IN SESSION:  Let's be praying that the newly formed Congress will not just offer more effective opposition to the President but that together the two branches of government will find a way to pass legislation and enact policies that will benefit America today and future generations. 

World-Wide Prayer Requests:
Feb. 25 - Urgent Prayer: "US Missionary Held for $300K Ransom in Nigeria" - CBNNews.com, February 25, 2015;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2015/February/US-Missionary-Held-for-Ransom-in-Nigeria----/ "Phyllis Sortor, an American missionary in Nigeria, has been abducted from the Hope Academy compound in Emiworo, Kogi State. Nigerian police say her captors are asking for $300,000 in ransom. The Free Methodist Church, Sortor's sponsoring denomination, reports that the U.S. State Department and FBI are working with Nigerian authorities to find and rescue her. Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria and most victims are returned unharmed. It's also possible that the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram is involved, although it operates mainly in the northeastern corner of Nigeria and Sotor was kidnapped in the central part of the country..."
 Save Christian Mom Asia Bibi from Execution - A Christian mom has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for her faith. Asia Bibi was falsely accused of “blasphemy” – speaking against the prophet Muhammad. Now this wife and mother of five will hang for her Christian faith.She would be the first woman executed under Pakistan’s Shariah blasphemy law.This is the ultimate human rights violation. We’re mobilizing our international affiliate – the European Centre for Law and Justice – and its partner in Pakistan to stop this atrocity. Add your name to our letter to the government of Pakistan demanding Asia Bibi’s freedom.Go to http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/save-christian-mom-asia-bibi-from-execution; please add your signature to mine and over 35,000 others AND pray for Asia Bibi.

Friday, Sept. 26th - Two Year Anniversary of  Pastor Saeed Abedini's Imprisonment in Iran! - [NOTE TODAY'S POST!]

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. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign] 

"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/  "..An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted...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

Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.

PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that allied forces will be able to drive the group ISIS back (see post #964)

/PRAYER ALERT- UKRAINE: 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.

*That President Obama would use wisdom in crafting our  foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.

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.

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"She Worked for Years at an Abortion Clinic Until Something Made Her Quit for Good" - SARAH TERZO / MAR 19, 2015 |  http://www.lifenews.com/2015/03/19/she-worked-for-years-at-an-abortion-clinic-until-something-made-her-quit-for-good/

Charjuana Hogan worked at Planned Parenthood for 4 years. When she started her job, she was not working with abortions. Her title was reproductive health assistant, and she took care of patients who came in for birth control. The Planned Parenthood branch in Riverside, California, was divided into 2 sections – they only did abortions on one side. The other side was devoted to birth control.

She says:  “I was offered a pay that I have never been offered before, and I looked forward to going to work every day.” Hogan says that she was never taught the health risks of abortion or even details of the abortion procedure.

According to the article at Live Action, the reality of abortion procedures was kept hidden from the clinic workers. Little information was provided to them, even if they asked. Hogan says:

“They want you to look like you are helping women out. When they send you for training, they give you justification into why women get abortions.” The Live Action article said that abortion was always presented to the workers in the most positive terms. Workers were continuously told that they were helping women.

Hogan watched staffers pieced together the bodies of aborted babies, from 5 to 19 weeks, and saw hands and feet, fingers and toes.

“The parts were brought to the lab that the reproductive health and abortion side shared, and the remains were placed into a red biohazard trash bag like it was nothing. It kind of made me sad a little bit when I saw it.

I would just go out of the room, and it would be on my mind at some time and I would shake it off. Since I was still working there, I wanted to be blind….

We had training often on different types of things. I was disturbed after watching a Planned Parenthood training video of women coming in for an abortion. The video said they felt relaxed, and that Planned Parenthood made [the patient] feel comfortable and happy. It was a perception of deception – like some happy product in a store, it popped right out at me.”

Hogan was upset by the number of young girls (14 to 15 years old) who would come for  abortions during school hours. Many of them hadn not told their parents:

“Most patients were young and they didn’t want their parents to know. A lot of the girls that came in there were very uneducated in a lot of things. Working in the front desk, I would think, ‘Why aren’t these young girls at school? If they can’t even fill out this paperwork, what are they doing having sex?’”

She was also troubled by women who came for abortions again and again, essentially using them for birth control. And of course, late-term abortions:

“Women come in at 24 weeks, and I would see them come in that far along. Even if you are deceived about when it becomes a life, you for sure know it’s a life – your stomach is poking way out there.” A pro-life protester talked to Hogan about religion, and she ended up believing in Jesus and making a new start in life, which led to her quitting the abortion business. She says:

 “My message and my dream would be for women to be educated – what is being done to them – and that would make a change. If they know what’s being done to them and when life begins, then there would be a change.”

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

To find out more about the reason she left the clinic, read the original article:
Becky Yeh “Woman quits Planned Parenthood, shares abortion horrors” Live Action ,MAR 18, 2015; http://liveactionnews.org/woman-quits-planned-parenthood-shares-abortion-horrors/

LifeNews.com Note: Sarah Terzo is a pro-life liberal who runs ClinicQuotes.com, a web site devoted to exposing the abortion industry. She is a member of the pro-life groups Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians and Secular Pro-Life. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.