#2476 (10/31) "9 Things to Expect If Dems Win the House"

"9 THINGS TO EXPECT IF DEMOCRATS WIN THE HOUSE" -  Tony Perkins, Washington Watch, October 26, 2018; https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA18J45&f=WU18J11 [AS I SEE IT: Yes, I know, we seem to always be hearing - for many now - how critical upcoming elections will be. Well, with the progressive Democratic Party increasingly proposing more and  more things to turn America in a different direction than we'lve been blessed to experience in just the past 2 years, THIS mid-term elections - elections that usually bring about little change for our country - ARE critical. And though the numbers of evangelical Christians are not as large as they once were, how Christians vote  - and even whether they vote - WILL make a difference in many states and for our country as a whole. Yes, we should be generally praying that the American people VOTE and VOTE WISELY, as this article discusses, there are clear differences between the  major parties that Christians need to be informed about before they vote. HOW they vote -b and THAT they vote - is critical for this great country that God has called us to be a part of being stewards over through our resonsible citizenship. So please, my friend, VOTE, and VOTE WISELY!  For us to not  do so will truly be scarier than anything we could see this Halloween.- Stan]

    In [6] days, Americans could be waking up to a very different country. While no one's sure what November 6th holds, we do know one thing: the two parties vying for Congress couldn't have more contrasting views. After two years of slashing taxes, beefing up the military, rolling back radicalism, and putting America first, voters know what to expect from Republicans. But what would 2019 look like with "Speaker" back in front of Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) name? "Collateral damage," she says. And a lot of it.

The California Democrat never defined what she meant, but her party has dropped plenty of hints. The far-Left is coming for the conservative agenda -- and not a single portion won't feel the effects. In their own words, here are some of the changes in store for America under a Democratic-controlled House or Senate -- or both.

IMPEACHMENT
    Some Democrats have gone to great lengths to avoid the "I-word," but it's not because they aren't thinking it. On a conference call with House Democrats over the summer, Pelosi told leaders to keep quiet on their intentions until after the midterms. Others are less careful. "I think the president has to realize that the countdown to impeachment has already started," Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) said bluntly. "He, at some point, will have to choose if he will face impeachment or if he will resign. It will be his choice. The Congress will have no choice but to act."

INVESTIGATIONS
     After two years of "pent-up frustrations," as Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) called for them. "You can bet we're going to have those hearings." Under Democratic control, the House would become investigation central. With liberals controlling the calendar, every committee chairmanship, and subpoena power, President Trump and his team would be subject to a two-year inquisition on everything from Trump's taxes, Russian "collusion," White House lobbyists, and the list goes on and on. Real work in the House would come to a complete standstill, so that Democrats could exact a pound of flesh in a two-year witch hunt to tee up the party for a successful 2020.
     Democratic offices have told CNN that they've "started laying out a menu of options. The guiding principle, according to people familiar with the discussions, is to not only just investigate Trump, but to also investigate the ways in which the administration is chipping away at key Democratic priorities... Subpoenas," reporters were told, "will start flying toward every Cabinet secretary." In Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva's words (D-Ariz.), "I think every ranking member, their staffs are looking at this. If there's a new majority... we can't waste time. We have to hit the ground running from Day One."

ABORTION ON DEMAND
     "We will have a pro-choice gavel when we win the Congress," Pelosi told students at Georgetown University, reminding them that she is a "rabid supporter of a woman's right to choose." That leaves little question about what would happen to the most important items on the pro-life agenda -- nothing. That includes a ban on abortions on unborn infants that can feel pain, a measure to make the Hyde Amendment permanent, conscience rights, and protections for infants born alive after an attempted abortion. Any piece of pro-life legislation would be dead on arrival.

GENDER-FREE BATHROOMS, LOCKER ROOMS, SHOWERS, SPORTS TEAMS
     Anyone who thought the bathroom debate was out of control under Barack Obama hasn't seen anything yet. This past Tuesday at a Harvard University event, Pelosi said that passing Equality Act (or, more accurately, the Inequality Act) would be a top priority for Democrats. "It isn't in our 'For the People' agenda," she explained, "because it doesn't get that specific, but there's one more because it's personal for me that I really want to do, and it's called the Equality Act."
     Considered the most radical piece of pro-LGBT legislation ever introduced in Congress, this bill would dramatically alter the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to force Americans' conformity on everything from sexuality to transgenderism. It would make what's been unfolding in Target bathrooms look like a Sunday school picnic. Under this bill, anyone who objects to homosexuality on moral grounds would be severely punished. That includes schools, businesses, food banks, adoption agencies, homeless shelters, faith-based ministries, government offices – without exemption. Religious liberty, as we know it, would cease to exist.

LOWER PAYCHECKS
     If you like your tax cuts, you can't keep them, Pelosi says. In a video that went viral, she was asked if Democrats would raise taxes if they won the majority. "That's accurate," she replied. It was a surprisingly honest confession on one of the most popular pieces of Trump's agenda. With 90 percent of American workers enjoying more take-home pay under the tax reforms, you can bet Pelosi's answer will resonate with a lot of families.
     So will a new report from the Heritage Foundation, which shows that "if tax reform were to be repealed or expire, the average American would have $26,906 less in take-home pay over the subsequent 10 years." Even more astonishing, paychecks "for the average family of four could drop by $45,739 over 10 years."

OBAMACARE
     Republicans didn't manage to topple Barack Obama's failure of a health care law, but they did manage to take big bites out of its effectiveness. If Democrats win back the House, Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) -- who most people expect to take over the chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means Committee -- says the road to repeal would end. "What they've done is try to dismantle [the Affordable Care Act] through the regulatory process," Neal told reporters. "I think if we were so lucky as to be the majority, I think we would certainly be in the position to stop that."

A WEAKENED MILITARY
     After rebuilding a military that had been decimated by the Obama years, Democrats are ready to put the military back on a shoestring budget. According to the Military Times, "Defense issues barely received a mention in the 'Better Deal; policy priorities list unveiled by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last spring." The article goes on to warn about Democrats like Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) chairing Armed Services – a man who insists he wants the committee to be "actively engaged" in fighting for special privileges for troops who identify as gay or transgender.
     Basically, he wants to deprioritize defense. In recent months, he's even embraced the picture conservatives are painting of him. "If you read conservative opinions about, 'what if the Democrats take back the House,' one of the biggest arguments is 'you can't let Adam Smith be chairman of the Armed Services committee because he wants to cut the defense budget' -- and they're right," he said last week.

ABOLISHING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT
     "Eliminating ICE would be an important step," Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) said, but it's not enough. "This administration is attacking immigrants on a multitude of fronts, and we must resist on all of them. It alone is not enough to halt Donald Trump's deportation machine." Velazquez is one of multiple Democratic House members who've stated on the record that they want to do away with immigration enforcement. Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, has already promised to "pass legislation to protect 'Dreamers.'"

GUN CONTROL
    Rep. David Cicilline's (D-R.I.) first order of business if Democrats win the majority? Gun control. "There's tremendous consensus within the Democratic caucus that we should move forward on a number of common-sense gun safety proposals," he said. "There are dozens of bills pending in the Congress introduced by Democrats that range from improving the background check system to banning bump stocks to an assault weapons ban, to better measures to prevent people with serious mental illness accessing firearms."
    Several House members agreed, including Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). "There is a new element now after the [Parkland] situation. It is important now to talk about and hopefully pass a ban on weapons of war -- on all types of assault weapons. No question that it will be on the agenda," she added. It's "ready to go" Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) agreed, insisting that gun control would "be a really obvious thing to start with" if Democrats are in charge.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]
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"Midterm Election 2018: What's At Stake?" - By Carrie Gordon Earll, https://www.focusonthefamily.com/socialissues/how-to-get-involved/midterm-election-2018-whats-at-stake

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 trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer." - Stan 

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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

Praying for North Korea - For the last 17 years, North Korea has been #1 on the World
Watch List as the most dangerous place in the world for Christians. Yet the North Korean church, an estimated 300,000 members strong, continues to persevere. Throughout October, join us we pray for and encourage our persecuted family living in the face of oppression.

October 31 | ARABIAN PENINSULA - Pray for believers to find ways to reach out to Muslims who have never heard the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray that Islam will lose its grip over the region and that new believers will be added to the Kingdom of God.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.

#2475 (10/30) "The Rise of Anti-Semitism in the U.S. - Despicable, Deadly, and Un-Christian"

"THE RISE OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE U.S. - DESPICABLE, DEADLY, AND UN-CHRISTIAN"- by Chuck Colson and Roberto Rivera, Breakpoint.org,; Oct. 30, 2018; 

http://www.breakpoint.org/2018/10/breakpoint-the-rise-of-anti-semitism-in-the-u-s/

    Each and every Christian should be clear on this point: anti-Semitism in any and all forms, is a despicable evil.

     On Saturday morning, a terrorist entered Tree of Life synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh and opened fire during Shabbat services. Before being shot and captured by police, Robert Bowers killed eleven people, including two brothers, a married couple in their 80’s, and a 97-year old woman.

   This shooting took place in what is literally Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood, and has left some American Jews asking a question they should never have to ask: Are they safe? In America even, are they safe?

   It’s not an overreaction. What’s believed to be the deadliest attack on worshipping Jews in American history is only the most recent, and most extreme, example of the increasing anti-semitism in the United States. Yes, I said “increasing.”  Jews are only 2 percent of the American population but according to the FBI, they “account for more than half of the Americans targeted by hate crimes committed due to religious bias.” According to the Anti-Defamation League, 1,986 anti-Semitic incidents were reported in 2017, compared with 1,267 in 2016. That’s a 57 percent increase in a single year.
     Most incidents include things like bullying–especially but not exclusively on social media—and vandalism, especially the defacing of Jewish institutions with swastikas. This happened at a Jewish community center near a colleague’s home last year.

   Still, even non-violent incidents cannot be dismissed as merely words or pranks. The Jewish heritage, as one person put it, comes with a “paranoia confirmed by history.” The ADL is correct to warn that the anti-Semitic poison currently rampant on Twitter, Facebook, and especially social media sites like Gab, find their way into mainstream discourse and, in extreme cases, inspire violence.

   As Christians called by God to this cultural moment, it’s not enough to merely avoid being anti-Semitic. We ought oppose this vile ideology wherever and whenever we come across it.

    Years ago, at an inter-faith dialogue featuring a Hindu, a Muslim, a Jew, a Buddhist, and me, a skeptic asked the three monotheists: “If your God is a God of love, why do you proselytize others?” Setting aside the loaded postmodern assumptions in the question itself, I remember being surprised by the answer given by the representative of Judaism, “We don’t proselytize,” he said. “We believe God made a special arrangement with us through our father Abraham. If He made a deal with any of you, we don’t know.”

   Christians, of course, agree that God made a special arrangement with Abraham. However, Christians also understand that in that agreement, God launched his plan of redemption and that through Israel, “all nations on earth will be blessed” (Gen 22:18). This, of course, God did through Jesus, who was, as the Scriptures make abundantly clear, thoroughly Jewish.

   In a short piece on anti-Semitism, Francis Schaeffer wrote “…we should keep constantly in our minds that our Lord Himself was a Jew—born a Jew, lived a Jew, died a Jew.” And we should remember, as Russell Moore wrote in his blog, Jesus remains a Jew. As fully God and fully man, He was not resurrected from His Jewishness. So, as Moore bluntly put it, “to hate Jews is to hate Jesus.”

     In light of that reality and acknowledging fully the Church’s checkered past when it comes to the Jewish people, we must not allow the tiniest whiff of anti-Semitism into in our heads, our homes, or our hearts. We hear too much of it today, sometimes in the name of preserving Christian America. There’s nothing, and I mean nothing, Christian about anti-Semitism in any form. As the little poem quoted by Francis Schaeffer back in 1943 reads,

“How odd of God to choose the Jew,

But not so odd as those who choose

The Jewish God and hate the Jew.”

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

RESOURCES
"The Fundamentalist Christian  and Anti-Semitism" - Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer | The Independent Board Bulletin | October 1943; http://www.pcahistory.org/documents/anti-semitism.html
"If You Hate Jews, You Hate Jesus" - Russell Moore | RussellMoore.com | October 28, 2018; https://www.russellmoore.com/2018/10/28/if-you-hate-jews-you-hate-jesus/
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"The Remedy for Evil" - Tony Perkins, Washington Watch, Oct 29, 2018; https://www.frcaction.org/updatearticle/20181029/remedy-evil 
"America Has Always Been a Safe Haven for Jews. An Evil Killer Won’t Change That." - Jarrett Stepman / @JarrettStepman / October 29, 2018; 
https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/10/29/america-has-always-been-a-safe-haven-for-jews-an-evil-killer-wont-change-that/

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 trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer." - Stan 

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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

Praying for North Korea - For the last 17 years, North Korea has been #1 on the World
Watch List as the most dangerous place in the world for Christians. Yet the North Korean church, an estimated 300,000 members strong, continues to persevere. Throughout October, join us we pray for and encourage our persecuted family living in the face of oppression.

October 30 | ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - Pray for daily life in Gaza, where the handful of believers struggle to survive. There is limited electricity available,

water is not drinkable and temperatures are high. Pray for the people, including our brothers and sisters, who suffer.

*Name has been changed to protect identity.

#2474 (10/29) "Former Satanist Warns Christians about Celebrating Halloween" /"Paganism and Witchcraft: The Dark Reality of Halloween"

"FORMER SATANIST WARNS CHRISTIANS ABOUT  CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN" - CBN News, 10-20-2018; http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2017/october/former-satanist-warns-christians-about-celebrating-halloween [AS I SEE IT: This article - and the one that follows - argues for Christians to avoid any celebration of Halloween. While some might say it's just a matter of  opinion on which it's alright for Christians to difffer - I am particularly concerned about the note of curses being passed on down generatioins for participating in recognizing this day in any way. Yes, it is a way to reach out to others with the gospel, but is it kind of like a Christian marrying a non-Christian in the hopes of reaching that person for Christ? Maybe the comparison is not accurate, but I find myself very concerned of what the consequences might be in noting this cultural holiday. I'm not being critical of Christians who do different things on Halloween but I for one will continue to keep my porch light off and hope to find another way to reach out to the children of my neighborhood. For instance, wouldn't simply putting more of an emphasis on Easter and Christmas in our neighborhood instead be an option? Just a thought. - Stan]

    Should Christians celebrate Halloween? Opinions differ between Christian leaders, lay people and church members.

   According to a CBN News Facebook poll, 87% of believers feel that Christians should not celebrate Halloween, while 13% believe it's okay. 

  Former Satanist John Ramirez recently joined Charlene Aaron on CBN News' Prayer Link to talk about Christians and Halloween. "I was a general to the kingdom of darkness in witchcraft," Ramirez said. "I would sit with the Devil and talk to him like I'm talking to you today. It was that kind of communication. It was that kind of relationship."
  Ramirez warns Halloween isn't just about costumes and candy – there's a much darker reality. 
"Sometimes people say, 'I celebrated Halloween 10 years ago, I did this 15 years ago, I did this 20 years ago.' But the door's still open. You just cursed your family from three to four generations," Ramirez told CBN News. "You have to be aware it's a curse. You have to go back to the place where you started, that year that you started that Halloween thing, the celebration when you started having that encounter with the dark side. You have to go back to that same spot and renounce and renounce it in the name of Jesus Christ and ask God to forgive you for that so that God can have mercy and close that door so your whole family can move forward," he continued.

  Ramirez, now a pastor, knows all about the dark reality of Halloween. He once sacrificed animals as part of satanic rituals and his friends even knew him as "Lucifer's son."
         
  Now as a born again believer, he strongly warns Christians against celebrating Halloween and participating in harvest festivals. "The only harvest we should celebrate is the harvest of souls," he adds. 
  Ramirez says that in his opinion the other events Christians hold instead of Halloween, such as "Trunk or Treat" nights, are really no different. "Do you know any Satanists who say, 'Hey, we're going to come into Good Friday and we're going to hang out with the Christians and we're just going to call it a different name?"

  However, Pastor Alan Rudnick believes that Christians should take back Halloween. 
  "Halloween is often associated with the pagan concept of Samhain, the festival where ancient pagans believed that the worlds of the living and dead would have been thinly divided," he writes on his blog. "But, we have seen from the other ancient pagan festivals associated with Christmas and Easter that these pagan connections do not serve as a reason why we cannot celebrate a Christian holiday."

  According to the website Equipping Godly Women, Halloween can be a good opportunity for outreach and to teach about good vs. evil. 

However, Anton LaVey, the late founder of the Church of Satan, once said he took joy in believers taking part in the tradition. "I am glad that Christian parents let their children worship the devil at least one night out of the year," he said. "Welcome to Halloween."

[italics and colored emhasis mine]

[***Originally published October 28, 2017.]
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"PAGANISM AND WITCHCRAFT: THE DARK REALITY OF HALLOWEEN"- Talia Wise, 10-29-2017; http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2017/october/paganism-and-witchcraft-the-dark-reality-of-halloween-nbsp

     Millions of people will be celebrating Halloween on ... October 31, including many Christians. 

Halloween is the second largest commercial holiday in America grossing $8 billion in sales. 
Some parents will dress up their children in costumes ranging from princesses to goblins and go trick-or-treating. However, many do not realize there's a darker reality to this celebration and it is steeped in paganism and witchcraft. 

Halloween, or All Hallow's Eve, originated in the ancient Celtic festival Samhain, which means "end of summer." According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes and many people believed that ghosts, witches, goblins, black cats, fairies, and demons roamed the earth. So, in order to protect their families and livestock during the coming dark winter months, the Celts invoked the help of their gods with animal sacrifices.

   However, the holiday took a different turn when Christians arrived on the scene and began celebrating All Soul's Day. All Soul's Day was a time when Christians would commemorate and pray for the souls of believers who had died. In the Western Christian practice, the celebration began at a prayer service on the evening of October 31 and ended November 2. During this time, the poor would visit the houses of wealthier families to receive little pastries called "soul cakes" in exchange for a promise to pray for the family's dead relatives. Eventually, the festivities evolved into people dressing up and singing songs in exchange for treats. 

   CBN News' Charlene Aaron interviewed former Satanist John Ramirez, who warned that Christians should have nothing to do with practicing pagan customs. "Halloween is the most diabolical demonic holiday," he said. He explains Christians should not be deceived when celebrating Halloween alternatives. 
    "Why would you pick a day...October 31st and then you're going to call it 'harvest'? You going to dress people up. You going to bring candy. What is the difference between that and Halloween?," he asked.

[italics and colored 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 trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer." - Stan 

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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

Praying for North Korea - For the last 17 years, North Korea has been #1 on the World
Watch List as the most dangerous place in the world for Christians. Yet the North Korean church, an estimated 300,000 members strong, continues to persevere. Throughout October, join us we pray for and encourage our persecuted family living in the face of oppression.

October 29 | MALDIVES - Pray for secret believers, asking God to continue to fix their eyes

on Him amidst the current political chaos in the country. Ask God to guide His church to develop effective discipleship.

*Name has been changed to protect identity.

#2473 (10/27) SUNDAY SPECIAL: "Divided We Fall"

"DIVIDED WE FALL" - Tony Perkins, Washington Update, October 24, 2018; https://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20181024/divided-fall [AS I SEE IT: I, of course, agree with the writer of this article and with the President that we must be focused on being a united people who treat each other with civility. AND I freely admit that beginning with the President some of our leaders have used very harsh language to attack those who they disagee with, and THAT is never right. HOWEVER, even as the man accused of the recent bombing attempts has been described as "right-wing," I feel the need to point out that -while many of those opposed to the President have clearly advocated violence against their opponents - you have not heard conservative leaders advocating such. While some language may be deemed  "violent," it is clearly a whole other level of true violence when actual physical confrontation of opponents is advocated as many liberal voices have recently. - Stan] 

     No one was hurt, but this morning's news that suspicious packages had been found at the addresses of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, CNN headquarters, and others was no less shocking. The idea that there could be more violence, more threats, more outbursts than we've already witnessed this election cycle is more than most Americans can bear. Now, two weeks out from midterm elections that stand to divide the country even more, most people want to know: when can we get back to being one nation again?

   For weeks, we've watched tensions on both sides boil over, threatening our way of life and our political process. This is, very honestly, a dangerous time for us as a nation. When people live in fear simply for holding certain beliefs -- we've lost sight of what it means to be American. What happened today is horrifying, but it's also an opportunity -- if we take it -- for some honest soul-searching. We may have our differences and there is certainly room for disagreement and debate in our Republic -- in fact, that ability is what enables our experiment in self-government to work. But what there's no room for and what we can't tolerate is the terrorizing of our political opponents. [italics and colored emphasis mine]

   We all need to work to shut the door that leads to violence. And that starts by finding a way to communicate. Not by shouting at each other, but by starting to talk to one another. Obviously, feelings and emotions are running high. But [just] days before an election, we need to look at this from an eternal perspective -- recognizing that the help we're seeking isn't in Washington. It's in the hope and healing offered through faith in God -- the same faith that's sustained our nation for two and a half centuries in days much darker than this one. It's time to turn our attention there, to the One who reconciles -- regardless of color, age, party, or beliefs.

   President Trump promised that "The safety of the American people is my highest and absolute priority." But there's a part we all have to play. As he said, "In these times, we have to unify, we have to come together and send one very clear, strong, unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America."

   The path forward is a civil one. We continue to pray that people on both sides will choose it. Most importantly, we lift up our nation, which desperately needs God's healing touch if we have any hope of rediscovering the mutual respect that makes America great. May the Lord help us to be reflective as a people about what's at stake and seek His hand as we navigate these difficult waters.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

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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 trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer." - Stan 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

Praying for North Korea - For the last 17 years, North Korea has been #1 on the World
Watch List as the most dangerous place in the world for Christians. Yet the North Korean church, an estimated 300,000 members strong, continues to persevere. Throughout October, join us we pray for and encourage our persecuted family living in the face of oppression.

October 28 | VIETNAM - Pray for Open Doors field workers and their families—that

they will continue to find rest and comfort in the Lord despite hearing and witnessing traumatic stories of believers in Vietnam.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.

#2472 (10/27) PRO-LIFE SAT: "The Supreme Court Recently Sided With Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers. The Ripple Effect Has Begun"

"THE SUPREME COURT RECENTLY SIDED WITH PRO-LIFE PREGNANCY CENTERS. THE RIPPLE EFFECT HAS BEGUN." - Moira Gaul / October 15, 2018 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/10/15/the-supreme-court-recently-sided-with-pro-life-pregnancy-centers-the-ripple-effect-has-begun [AS I SEE IT: This is an excellent article of why Christians and especially CHURCHES should be regularly supporting crisis pregnancy centers. Are YOU and YOUR CHURCH doing so? - Stan]

Moira Gaul writes that the Supreme Court's decision in NIFLA v. Becerra "has preserved the good work of countless Americans in their communities." (Photo: dkfielding/Getty Images)

     Pregnancy centers were victorious at the Supreme Court earlier this summer, and that win is having a major ripple effect.

   In NIFLA v. Becerra, the court ruled 5-4 that states cannot require pro-life pregnancy centers to post advertisements promoting abortion, holding that such laws would violate the free speech rights of those centers. The ruling struck down a 2015 California law that had done just that.

  This ruling is already being felt in Hawaii, where just last month a district court judge issued a permanent injunction against a similar law, taking into account the legal precedent set in the NIFLA v. Becerra decision. The June Supreme Court ruling is also taking effect to unwind other legislative attacks, including those in San Francisco and Baltimore, designed to compel speech and undermine the mission of pro-life pregnancy centers.

  In addition to protecting free speech, the NIFLA ruling protected the massive and positive contributions that pregnancy centers make on a daily basis across America—contributions that translate into real numbers and lives changed.

  Exactly 50 years ago today, the first pregnancy center in North America was launched, and such centers quickly became the go-to source for life-affirming alternatives to abortion, offering hope and support to women searching for help. Today, they offer a dramatically expanded spectrum of services to reach women, men, youth, and families with encouragement, vital health information, education, and healing.

  Louise Summerhill founded the organization Birthright, which launched the first free-standing, pro-life pregnancy center in North America, on Oct. 15, 1968 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo: Birthright)

  A new report from the Charlotte Lozier Institute documents just how extensive the benefits of these centers have been. Surveying 2,600 out of an estimated 2,750 pregnancy centers, the report calculates that in 2017 alone:
   7 in 10 centers offered free ultrasounds, with 400,100 ultrasounds performed.
   295,000 moms and dads attended parenting courses.
   1 in 4 locations offered STI/STD testing.
   24,100 women and men received after-abortion support and recovery help.
   97 percent of centers offered material aid.
   Over 1 million youth attended community-based sexual risk avoidance presentations.
  
  In total, 2 million people received free services at pregnancy centers, saving communities an estimated $161 million each year. In addition, 67,400 volunteers—including 7,500 licensed medical professionals—gave their time at pregnancy centers.

  While pregnancy testing was one of the earliest services offered by centers 50 years ago, it remains a trademark service that centers are known for.
   A family nurse practitioner, who describes herself as pro-choice, was recently looking to help open “reproductive health teen clinics” in her California community. She interviewed local youth aged 14 to 24 to assess their needs, and reported being “floored” by their responses.
“I asked if they knew where they could get pregnancy testing,” she wrote. “Every single one of them, 85 to be exact, cited a crisis pregnancy center as the No. 1 place they go or have heard they can go.”
 “Why?” she asked. “In their own words, ‘They offer it for free.’ ‘You can walk in.’ ‘You see the sign as you’re walking by/driving by/riding the bus.’”

  This response is not surprising. Client exit surveys [https://s27589.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Pregnancy-Help-Centers-Serving-Women-and-Saving-Lives-01.18.18.pdf] compiled by national pregnancy center networks consistently show high levels of satisfaction and strongly indicate the positive reputation that pregnancy centers have in their communities. The scope of pregnancy centers’ core services has exploded, but the hallmarks of compassionate, respectful, and free care continue to resonate as widely as ever.

  The lives saved and changed through experiences at pregnancy centers are of immeasurable worth. The Lozier report [ https://lozierinstitute.org/a-half-century-of-hope-a-legacy-of-life-and-love/] illustrates these powerful life events by telling individual clients’ stories—stories of courageous moms and dads and sacrificial love.

  As a movement with roots in humanitarian service, supported by a long-standing foundation of volunteerism, pregnancy centers represent the best of America. Nine out of every 10 pregnancy center workers are volunteers. These volunteers serve people in their own community who are facing some of the most difficult situations life has to offer.

  Centers empower women, men, and youth to make courageous choices, and walk with them along the way. The formation of lasting, supportive relationships at pregnancy centers remains an essential characteristic that permeates all levels of their outreach—medical, educational, and support programs alike. This is not always typical in health care and other social service systems today.

   The Supreme Court got it right on free speech protections for pro-life pregnancy centers, and that ruling is paramount for the preservation of our liberties. But the ripple effect extends far beyond freedom of speech—it has preserved the good work of countless Americans in their communities.

   With an eye toward the future, we celebrate the tireless and noble efforts of pregnancy centers, and we applaud their many successes.

Moira Gaul is an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute where she works on pregnancy center studies and women’s health-related issues.

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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 trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the one of the great privileges AND responsibility for EVERY believer." - Stan 

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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

Praying for North Korea - For the last 17 years, North Korea has been #1 on the World
Watch List as the most dangerous place in the world for Christians. Yet the North Korean church, an estimated 300,000 members strong, continues to persevere. Throughout October, join us we pray for and encourage our persecuted family living in the face of oppression.

October 27 | NEPAL - Nepali Christians are being falsely accused of planning a conspiracy to assassinate Hindus. Pray that Christians would still meet and show love to their Hindu neighbors.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.

#2471 (10/26) "'Medicare-for-All [?]'"

"'MEDICARE FOR ALL'" -  Stephen Moore: Oct 23, 2018; https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2018/10/23/medicareforall-n2530902 [AS I SEE IT: This coming mid-term elections may not be the most critical in our history, but the presence of many who present socialist platforms such as the one described  in this story make it essential that voters educate themselves and not allow these ideas destructive to our society be put ito effect. (A good example is my own state of Florida.) I urge you to educate yourself about what's at stake and vote accordingly! - Stan]

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      It seems like just yesterday that Democrats were telling us that under Obamacare, "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan." 

   That was a nice sales pitch to voters -- even though it turned out to be a lie. Millions of Americans lost affordable insurance plans that were abolished under the Affordable Care Act. Still, people liked the idea that poor people would get health coverage and everyone else could retain the medical care they had.
   No more. When Bernie Sanders, and half the Democrats running for re-election, promising "Medicare-for-all," they mean exactly what they say. This is a health plan for all; everybody is tossed in the swimming pool. Think about that. Health and Human Services now tells us that some 157 million Americans with employer health care plans -- more than the entire population west of the Mississippi River -- would be forced into Medicare. If you don't like that idea, tough. Bernie knows best.

Democrats are denying this is true, but in the Nancy Pelosi tradition, they haven't read their own bill. There are several variations of "Medicare-for-All," but one prominent version makes private plans that would compete with Medicare illegal. Under Title VIII, Section 801 of the Medicare for All Act of 2017, the bill specifies that "no employee benefit plan may provide benefits that duplicate payment for any items or services for which payment may be made under Medicare." In other words, employers are prohibited from covering workers, retirees and their families.

Medicare already imposes all sorts of restrictions on private health plans for seniors that would dare compete with or undercut Uncle Sam. This is what "single-payer"means.

Republicans have been complaining that "Medicare-for-All" will jeopardize Medicare for seniors. Yes, but that isn't the bill's biggest political poison pill. Republicans should be shouting from the mountaintops: Nearly half of Americans will lose their health care under Sanders' wild adventure. If voters knew this fact, it would surely cause a pitchforked revolt of the middle class. Polls show that more than 70 percent of Americans with private health plans like what they have.

   In nearly every country with single-payer health systems that Sanders boasts about for being so "cost-efficient," private insurance becomes either illegal or financially unavailable except for the superrich. The entire premise of government-run care, as we saw under Obamacare, is that single-payer cannot work unless everyone -- healthy and sick -- is vacuumed into the same giant insurance pool so as to avoid "adverse selection" and a death spiral in costs.

Under the Canadian system, "Private insurance for medically necessary hospital and physician services is illegal in only 6 of the 10 provinces," a recent news agency reports. "A significant private sector has not developed in any of the 4 provinces that do permit private insurance coverage," the report continues. As Henry Ford used to say about the Model T when he was asked if you could get it in any color you wanted, "Yes, as long as it's black."

    Americans don't have to imagine what a government-run system would look like. We have one that already covers millions of Americans. It is called the Veterans Health Administration. Our veterans die waiting in lines and hospitals often provide shoddy levels of care -- to the very people who have, through their service and sacrifices, earned the best care in the world.

In 2018, Democrats have made "Medicare-for-All" their nationwide rallying cry. Republicans need to tell Americans the real story: Beware, ladies and gentlemen. The Bernie Democrats are coming to take away your health coverage and that of 157 million other Americans -- whether you like your current plan or not.

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation and an economic consultant with FreedomWorks. He is the co-author of "Fueling Freedom: Exposing the Mad War on Energy."

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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

Praying for North Korea - For the last 17 years, North Korea has been #1 on the World
Watch List as the most dangerous place in the world for Christians. Yet the North Korean church, an estimated 300,000 members strong, continues to persevere. Throughout October, join us we pray for and encourage our persecuted family living in the face of oppression.

October 26 | SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES - Pray for Jen-jen, a young believer who experienced persecution from her classmates and teacher. Pray that she will hold to her principles and will not succumb to pressure from the Muslim community. Pray for her family’s provision.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.

#2470 (10/25) "Dodged Caravan: Dems Still Silent on Migrants"

"DODGED CARAVAN: DEMS STILL SILENT ON MIGRANTS" - October 24, 2018; Tony Perkins, Washington  Watch, https://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20181024/dodged-caravan [NOTE: Guatamela officials have announced that they have apprehended 100 members of ISIS among those in the caravan! (Notice whether the mainstream media reports this.) ALSO, note the excerpt from article referenced afterwards.]

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     To some people, it's a mile-long crowd in the middle of Mexico, slowly snaking toward the U.S. border. To others, it's the perfect GOP campaign ad -- a living, breathing picture of where the Left's lawlessness has led. Regardless of which side you're on, the visual is daunting. Thousands of men, women, and children making their way northward, carrying flags, knapsacks, infants. They're determined to cross into the United States by whatever means necessary. And President Trump is just as determined to stop them.

   For all the talk of who's behind the caravan, the plight of many of these migrants is real. A lot of them are fleeing truly desperate situations of poverty and corruption at home. Others are running for their lives. For them, the risk of being turned away at the border is greater than whatever horrors they left behind. But as much sympathy as the administration may have for their situation, America isn't just a nation of feelings. It's a nation of laws too. "To those who want to come here, come here legally," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged. "Legal immigration is the surest way to obtain the better life you're looking for here in the United States of America."

  That's quite a contrast to Barack Obama, who treated U.S. immigration policy with the same disregard he had for every law that hindered his makeover of America. Under the previous administration, it was an open secret that claiming asylum was the surest way to get into the country, even illegally. That's exactly why President Trump wants to build a border wall, Dino Teppara points out in the Washington Examiner. "He knows that all someone has to do is get to the southern border, say the magic word 'asylum,' and they will essentially be given a free pass to the promised land. He also knows that with the way our court system treats asylum applicants once they are here, the odds are high that law enforcement and immigration personnel will never see that person again."

The caravan is a real-life snapshot of how broken our immigration system is. "For the most part," David Leonhardt writes in the New York Times, "Democrats have tried to avoid the issue." That's all but impossible now with more than 7,000 people marching toward our southern border. Some, the Department of Homeland Security just confirmed, with "significant criminal histories." For the Left, the options are not ideal. They can either agree to work with Republicans on a solution or admit what most of us have suspected all along: what they really want is to do away with immigration laws altogether.

"The smarter approach for Democrats," Leonhardt insists, "would be a few simple statements of the obvious, meant to display both realism and decency, along the lines of: This is a country of laws. We are not going to admit thousands of undocumented immigrants traveling in a caravan. We do not have open borders. But we are and have always been a country of compassion as well, and we are working with Mexican authorities to protect the safety of these men, women and children."

    Instead, the voice voters hear is President Trump's, promising that "full efforts are being made to stop the onslaught of illegal aliens from crossing our Southern Border. People have to apply for asylum in Mexico first, and if they fail to do that, the U.S. will turn them away..." If Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador won't step in, "we will now begin cutting off, or substantially reducing, the massive foreign aid." That's leadership. And it's what at stake in this election. We can either be a nation ruled by laws -- or a nation ruled by mobs.

   After eight years of Barack Obama, the world thinks America doesn't mean what it says. Now we have an administration committed to cleaning up the mess his lax enforcement left behind. As I've said before, lawlessness -- whether on our southern border or in the bathrooms of our children's schools -- threatens our safety and wellbeing. We know which side embraces the law and which side embraces the mob. So when you see the pictures of the caravan, think about what it represents -- and "Remember the midterms!"

[italics and colored emphasis mine]
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"The Caravan to Nowhere" - By The WSJ Editorial Board, 
Oct. 22, 2018; https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-caravan-to-nowhere-1540250858
     "...Though the details are murky, we do know that former Honduran congressman Bartolo Fuentes of the left-wing Libre Party has admitted to organizing this caravan...Mr. Fuentes, who was detained in Guatemala last week and returned to Honduras, has said he did not expect the caravan to grow so large, which raises the question of where the financing for the marchers is coming from. Criminal organizations and governments like Venezuela would benefit from chaos at the U.S. border that embarrasses the Trump Administration before the election. Many nongovernmental organizations on the left also support the migrants’ “right” to the American dream." 
   "The reality is that bowing to this migration blackmail would produce an American political backlash that would damage the cause of legal immigration and a humane refugee policy. Think of Germany’s Angela Merkel and the 2015 flood of Middle Eastern migrants. Mr. Trump is right to seek Mexican cooperation to make clear to the migrants that, whatever their plight, they cannot stampede over America’s southern border."

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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

Praying for North Korea - For the last 17 years, North Korea has been #1 on the World
Watch List as the most dangerous place in the world for Christians. Yet the North Korean church, an estimated 300,000 members strong, continues to persevere. Throughout October, join us we pray for and encourage our persecuted family living in the face of oppression.

October 25 | CHINA - Spring is a young believer among the Qiang groups. She has a burden to serve full time in the church. However, her husband is strongly against it. Please pray that her husband’s life will change.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.