ATTENTION: Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE BRIGHT BLUE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)
PRAYER MATTERS:"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and asking Him to accomplish His perfect and loving will." - Stan
S.C. Decision on Homosexual Marriage– NOTE: I cannot stress enough how we all need to be praying that the Church – ie, the individual believer and the institution itself - will respond appropriately and effectively. Despite what the mainstream media is reporting, the debate is NOT over! (42 years after the SC legalized abortion, that debate is also FAR from over!) The Court ruled wrongly BUT they do NOT speak the FINAL word; God’s Word (and GOD) does – and always will. Isaiah 40:8; Phil. 4:5-6.
World-Wide Prayer Requests:
"'We Can't Forget' Pastor Saeed's 1,000 Days in Prison" - By Abigail Robertson, June 24, 2015, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2015/June/We-Cant-Forget-Pastor-Saeeds-1000-Days-in-Prison/
"Pastor Saeed Abedini has been imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith for 1,000 days, June 23... 'We cannot move forward with an Iranian nuclear deal while Pastor Saeed sits in prison as well as three other Americans,' he said. Mahoney also called upon Christians around the world to come together in prayer.
'Pray for Saeed and his family, pray for safety for our brothers and sisters around the world, and also pray for our elected officials and President Obama that they would not be silent, ' Mahoney urged. 'We believe that as Christians pray around the world, we can see Pastor Saeed's release.' "
"DON'T LEAVE AMERICAN PASTOR SAEED BEHIND " - (5/2) - The Obama administration has stated that they would veto any Congressional action to tie the proposed nuclear deal with Pastor Saeed's release! (4/1/) - A nuclear deal with Iran could come at any time, any hour, any day. But will American Pastor Saeed be freed? His health is worsening. He continues to suffer grave threats in an Iranian prison where torture and executions are commonplace. President Obama assured Pastor Saeed’s wife that freedom for this wrongfully imprisoned U.S. citizen would be a “top priority.” Now is a critical time to continue to pressure the Obama Administration to not leave Pastor Saeed behind and urge Iran to show goodwill. Pastor Saeed is imprisoned merely because he is a Christian. He deserves to be home with his family. We continue fighting for his freedom – working in Congress, with the State Department, and with leaders across the globe. We must not forget Pastor Saeed. Sign the Petition: "Don’t Leave American Pastor Saeed Behind".; http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/dont-leave-am
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= "..An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted...
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"PLUMP UP THE VOLUME? Navy Eases Fitness Tests to Lure Recruits" - by Tony Perkins, Washington Update, Aug. 4, 2015, http://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20150804/plump-up
The government may be tightening the military's belt -- but the Navy is loosening theirs! Yesterday, the branch announced that it was relaxing yet another standard in order to try to boost sagging recruitment. This time, the Navy says it's increasing the amount of body fat allowed for sailors, along with the number of times a service member can fail the "body composition" part of the fitness test. According to Vice Admiral Bill Moran, Chief of Navy Personnel, it's time for the military to embrace a "more realistic" program.
But for people familiar with the military, the reason for these shifts is part of a much bigger problem: dwindling recruitment and retention. As many as 1,400 sailors were discharged for failing these tests last year, and based on the Pentagon's new reports, the military can't afford to lose anyone. In the Army, the situation is even more dire. For the first time in six years, the branch will miss its recruiting goal -- this time, by a whopping 10,000. Experts blame the 14% drop on the job market, but that's a convenient scapegoat for the real crisis in our nation's ranks.
Desperate to attract more men and women, the Defense Department has lowered almost every possible standard -- from education and immigration to drug and fitness criteria. What is sure to add to the military's retreating enlistment, President Obama is advancing the next wave of his radical social policy, removing the military's ban on transgenderism to match his move on homosexuality. For our brave men and women, who are fighting internal wars against military suicide and sexual assault, the bonds of unity and morality have been stretched to the breaking point.
And the war on religious liberty hasn't helped matters. FRC's Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin talks to active duty military on a regular basis who tell him that the crackdown on Christianity across the military is "much worse" than anything the media is reporting. Dissatisfied and disrespected, thousands of soldiers say their commitment is waning. The warning signs have been there all along, but only recently have the surveys started to confirm what most long suspected: that this administration's radical policies are having a catastrophic effect on the troops.
Only 15 percent have confidence in the leadership of their Commander-in-Chief, who seems more concerned about waging a cultural war than a war to protect our freedoms. Add the disgust over social experimentation to the flailing morale, and it spells disaster for the future of our military. Despite what some suggest, the constant wear and tear of war isn't the problem here; the President's battle against the timeless traditions and standards of the military is. This isn't what our brave young troops signed up for. And based on enlistment numbers, it isn't what future soldiers will sign up for either.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
PRAYER MATTERS:"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and asking Him to accomplish His perfect and loving will." - Stan
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!" - Rev. Franklin Graham delivered this insight to his Facebook friends: "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.")
PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS: Let's be praying that the Congress and the the President will find a way to pass legislation and enact policies that will benefit America today and future generations and NOT do any lasting harm.
ABORTION AND PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Dear friend, As I was praying for the over 3,000 women every day who have scheduled appointments to abort their unborn child (as I do each morning), God encouraged me that possibly through this latest PP scandal many women are giving second thoughts to abortion. Hopefully the scandal (like the revelation of partial birth abortions 12 years ago) will serve to educate more people that abortion is not about discarding unwanted tissue but of destroying live human beings. Hopefully, it will be the cause of fewer and fewer considering abortion as a choice! Let's be praying that is already happening! - Stan]
PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS: Let's be praying that the Congress and the the President will find a way to pass legislation and enact policies that will benefit America today and future generations and NOT do any lasting harm.
ABORTION AND PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Dear friend, As I was praying for the over 3,000 women every day who have scheduled appointments to abort their unborn child (as I do each morning), God encouraged me that possibly through this latest PP scandal many women are giving second thoughts to abortion. Hopefully the scandal (like the revelation of partial birth abortions 12 years ago) will serve to educate more people that abortion is not about discarding unwanted tissue but of destroying live human beings. Hopefully, it will be the cause of fewer and fewer considering abortion as a choice! Let's be praying that is already happening! - Stan]
S.C. Decision on Homosexual Marriage– NOTE: I cannot stress enough how we all need to be praying that the Church – ie, the individual believer and the institution itself - will respond appropriately and effectively. Despite what the mainstream media is reporting, the debate is NOT over! (42 years after the SC legalized abortion, that debate is also FAR from over!) The Court ruled wrongly BUT they do NOT speak the FINAL word; God’s Word (and GOD) does – and always will. Isaiah 40:8; Phil. 4:5-6.
"'We Can't Forget' Pastor Saeed's 1,000 Days in Prison" - By Abigail Robertson, June 24, 2015, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2015/June/We-Cant-Forget-Pastor-Saeeds-1000-Days-in-Prison/
"Pastor Saeed Abedini has been imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith for 1,000 days, June 23... 'We cannot move forward with an Iranian nuclear deal while Pastor Saeed sits in prison as well as three other Americans,' he said. Mahoney also called upon Christians around the world to come together in prayer.
'Pray for Saeed and his family, pray for safety for our brothers and sisters around the world, and also pray for our elected officials and President Obama that they would not be silent, ' Mahoney urged. 'We believe that as Christians pray around the world, we can see Pastor Saeed's release.' "
"DON'T LEAVE AMERICAN PASTOR SAEED BEHIND " - (5/2) - The Obama administration has stated that they would veto any Congressional action to tie the proposed nuclear deal with Pastor Saeed's release! (4/1/) - A nuclear deal with Iran could come at any time, any hour, any day. But will American Pastor Saeed be freed? His health is worsening. He continues to suffer grave threats in an Iranian prison where torture and executions are commonplace. President Obama assured Pastor Saeed’s wife that freedom for this wrongfully imprisoned U.S. citizen would be a “top priority.” Now is a critical time to continue to pressure the Obama Administration to not leave Pastor Saeed behind and urge Iran to show goodwill. Pastor Saeed is imprisoned merely because he is a Christian. He deserves to be home with his family. We continue fighting for his freedom – working in Congress, with the State Department, and with leaders across the globe. We must not forget Pastor Saeed. Sign the Petition: "Don’t Leave American Pastor Saeed Behind".; http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/dont-leave-am
4/18/2015"Recant or Else: Saeed Faces New Psychological Torture" - By George Thomas, April 18, 2015; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2015/April/Iranian-Prison-Guards-Torment-American-Pastor/ "Naghmeh [his wife] says recent prisoner executions have also taken their toll on her husband. Despite the hardships, she writes that he continues to remain strong in the faith.'He wants you all to know that the Lord continues to move in that prison and lives are being transformed!' his wife wrote on Facebook. 'That they had a great Easter in prison,' she continued. 'Saeed desperately 'missed being with our family on Easter, but new Easter traditions were created in prison!' 'Over the years this journey has truly become more difficult and painful for Saeed and for the kids and I,' she wrote. 'Our family appreciates your continued prayers.'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.
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= "..An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted...
4/17/2015 "US Missionary Injured in Apparent Terrorist Shooting" - By Abigail Robertson, April 17, 2015; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2015/April/Christian-Missionary-Wounded-in-Apparent-Terrorist-Shooting/ "A Christian missionary is fighting for her life after being shot in the head in Karachi, Pakistan, in an apparent terrorist attack. Fifity-five-year-old Debra Lobo was hit twice when four men fired shots from motorbikes as she was leaving work...The gunmen, who escaped, left a leaflet in her car with her name on it saying they had targeted her because she was American." Let's keep Debra in our prayers.
7/24 - ASIA BIBI CONVICTION OVERTURNED! PRAY THAT SHE (IN VERY POOR HEALTH) MIGHT BE RELEASED WHEN HER CASE IS REVIEWED SOON. - A Christian mom had 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. Go to http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/breaking-pakistans-supreme-court-accepts-petition-to-hear-asia-bibis-appeal;please add your signature to over 300,000 others AND continue to pray for Asia Bibi.
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.
"PLUMP UP THE VOLUME? Navy Eases Fitness Tests to Lure Recruits" - by Tony Perkins, Washington Update, Aug. 4, 2015, http://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20150804/plump-up
The government may be tightening the military's belt -- but the Navy is loosening theirs! Yesterday, the branch announced that it was relaxing yet another standard in order to try to boost sagging recruitment. This time, the Navy says it's increasing the amount of body fat allowed for sailors, along with the number of times a service member can fail the "body composition" part of the fitness test. According to Vice Admiral Bill Moran, Chief of Navy Personnel, it's time for the military to embrace a "more realistic" program.
But for people familiar with the military, the reason for these shifts is part of a much bigger problem: dwindling recruitment and retention. As many as 1,400 sailors were discharged for failing these tests last year, and based on the Pentagon's new reports, the military can't afford to lose anyone. In the Army, the situation is even more dire. For the first time in six years, the branch will miss its recruiting goal -- this time, by a whopping 10,000. Experts blame the 14% drop on the job market, but that's a convenient scapegoat for the real crisis in our nation's ranks.
Desperate to attract more men and women, the Defense Department has lowered almost every possible standard -- from education and immigration to drug and fitness criteria. What is sure to add to the military's retreating enlistment, President Obama is advancing the next wave of his radical social policy, removing the military's ban on transgenderism to match his move on homosexuality. For our brave men and women, who are fighting internal wars against military suicide and sexual assault, the bonds of unity and morality have been stretched to the breaking point.
And the war on religious liberty hasn't helped matters. FRC's Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin talks to active duty military on a regular basis who tell him that the crackdown on Christianity across the military is "much worse" than anything the media is reporting. Dissatisfied and disrespected, thousands of soldiers say their commitment is waning. The warning signs have been there all along, but only recently have the surveys started to confirm what most long suspected: that this administration's radical policies are having a catastrophic effect on the troops.
Only 15 percent have confidence in the leadership of their Commander-in-Chief, who seems more concerned about waging a cultural war than a war to protect our freedoms. Add the disgust over social experimentation to the flailing morale, and it spells disaster for the future of our military. Despite what some suggest, the constant wear and tear of war isn't the problem here; the President's battle against the timeless traditions and standards of the military is. This isn't what our brave young troops signed up for. And based on enlistment numbers, it isn't what future soldiers will sign up for either.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
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