#2657 (4/30) "Islamic Terrorism Remains the World's Greatest Threat to Peace"

ATTENTION!

The movie"Unplanned" - I was SO blessed to be able to recently attend a special showing of this movie. PLEASE make plans to see this INCREDIBLE pro-life movie which opened March 29th, for a limited time. And if you can, take along your pastor or a church leader, and esp. anyone who calkls themselves "pro-choice." Trust me...this movie will speak to the heart of everyone who sees it![Go to https://www.unplannedfilm.com/ to see a theatrical trailer]
Find out where the movie is being shown![https://unplannedtickets.com/] 

WALK FOR LIFE 2019 for ThriveOrlando – PRAISE GOD! for the Walk that took place this past Saturday. It was blessed with 23 churches participating and raised $55,000 of the $60,000 goal BUT it was announced that a generous donor has offered a matching grant to DOUBLE the amount raised, so actually, over $110,000 has been raised! 
THANK YOU for whatever you may have given.

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"ISLAMIC TERRORISM REMAINS THE WORLD'S GREATEST THRESAT TO PEACE" -  David Harsany|Apr 26, 2019; https://townhall.com/columnists/davidharsanyi/2019/04/26/islamic-terrorism-remains-the-worlds-greatest-threat-to-peace-n2545428 [NOTE: Tomorrow's article will further point out that the greatest victims of persecution and terrorism worldwide, continues to be CHRISTIANS, despite how those on the Left continue to try to downplay the truth. - Stan]

Source: AP Photo/Vincent Thian

       After the horrific mass murder of 50 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch, New Zealand, there was widespread coverage and a torrent of mainstream news networks contemplating the threat of white supremacy. These conversations, completely reasonable and necessary in the face of violent attacks from a racist gunman, soon began deteriorating into politically motivated and specious claims contending that "white supremacy" had become the predominate terror threat in the world.

    Well, the coordinated bomb blasts aimed at Christian worshippers on Easter Sunday, which killed at least 290 people and injured hundreds more, demonstrates the kind of meticulous planning, funding, resources and support that is still exclusively the domain of radical Islamic terrorism. It's not merely that the act was planned to maximize the death toll, but that it is a continuation of long-standing efforts by Islamists to destroy the Christian communities left in Asia.

   Those who kill in the name of Islam are part of a worldwide, historic, ideological and political movement that includes, to various degrees and various reasons, radicalized men and women from both great factions of the faith. Then again, terrorist groups -- as well as their recruitment and propaganda outfits -- are often functioning in Islamic regimes, which either actively sustain terror, tolerate these groups or pay them off to engage in terrorism elsewhere.

   The Christians who remain in the Islamic world are often oppressed in other ways. In a number of these nations, publicly praying in any faith but Islam is forbidden and, in many, converting to Christianity is still punishable by death. "Islamic extremism remains the global, dominant driver of persecution, responsible for initiating oppression and conflict in 35 of the 50 countries on the list," according to Open Doors, a worldwide Christian group.

   The idea that a similar threat exists in the West is risible. There's not a single Western country that doesn't afford Muslim citizens the same rights it does as all other citizens. No government on Earth supports white supremacy.

   There is no funding infrastructure for those who support white power. There is no Christian or Jewish denomination, or any notable political factions, in those nations that imbue white supremacy with any theological or ideological legitimacy. There is no white supremacist government trying to obtain nuclear weapons, and none sending its terrorists to other countries. In the world's free nations, where any political party can participate in the process, the power of racist groups is minimal.

   Yet the American left continues to downplay the danger, first by arguing that Islam has nothing to do with Islamic terrorism, and then by lumping every white-skinned person who commits a terrorist act into one imaginary coherent political movement to contrast against it. It's true that Americans have been spared much Islamic terror since 2002 -- a year that, curiously, nearly every graph media uses to measure domestic terrorism starts -- but only because we've spent billions of dollars each year and immense resources, both in lives and treasure, keeping it out of the country and fighting it abroad.

   Another reason the majority of Americans might not comprehend Islamic radicalism's reach is the skewed intensity of the media coverage. Political correctness and a chilling fear of being labeled "Islamophobic" makes it difficult to honestly report on terrorism around the world.

   In addition to the massacre this Easter in Sri Lanka, at least 200 Christian civilians have been murdered in Africa by Islamic militants thus far in 2019 -- many of them killed by machete, some by bombings. Many more Christians have been murdered during the past calendar year.
   In November 2018, for example, 42 people were slaughtered in an attack on a Catholic mission in the Central African Republic. In October, 55 Christians were murdered by a group of Islamists in Nigeria. Another 29 were killed when 10 churches were burned down in Ethiopia last summer. Another seven Coptic Christians were gunned down in Egypt -- and others spared only because of the good work of police.

   There are pockets of racists in the world, and individuals who engage in terrible acts of violence against innocent people. These are dangerous men, capable of doing tremendous damage. But no group threatens global peace the same way that political Islam does. None has its reach or material and theological support. None has created more mayhem and death in the world since the end of the Cold War. The Sri Lankan massacre is just another harrowing reminder.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist and the author of the book "First Freedom: A Ride Through America's Enduring History With the Gun."
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"Report: Worst Countries for Freedom Revealed" - Tony Perkins, Washington Watch, 

April 29, 2019; https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA19D48&f=WU19D15

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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:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

The women of the persecuted church—in April, Open Doors is focusing on this group crucial to the spread of the gospel and thriving of the global Body of Christ. Throughout the world, 
women and girls are doubly persecuted: for their faith and for their gender. We invite you to step into their stories and pray with these sisters in Christ.
April 30 | NIGERIA - Pray with Gyang Adamu, 27, son of the village pastor. In one night, Gyang lost his whole family in a deadly Fulani militant herdsmen attack. Through your support, he is getting trauma care and funds to complete his studies.
*Names changed to protect identities

#2656 (4/29) "Sacred Spaces Matter - Beauty Calls the World to God"

"SACRED SPACES MATTER - BEAUTY CALLS THE WORLD TO GOD" - by John Stonestreet and G. Shane Morris, Breakpoint.org, April 25, 2019; http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/04/breakpoint-sacred-spaces-matter/

      As the Notre Dame cathedral burned, many mourned—some for the destruction of history and beauty and others because it was one of the world’s most iconic houses of Christian worship, where for centuries, French Catholics lifted up prayer, song, and sacrament to God.

   As of now, the devastating fire has been ruled an accident, but earlier suspicions that the blaze may have been deliberately set weren’t unfounded. In the months prior to the Notre Dame fire, historic churches across France were set ablaze, altars and crosses and statues were knocked down, and treasures were looted, all by vandals. Some churches were even fouled with human excrement. By some reports, over 800 churches were hit just last year.

   In fact, there’s been a startling surge in church desecration worldwide. Back in January, the Guardian reported on a new wave of anti-Christian persecution in China. Hundreds of churches have been shut down, defaced, even demolished by the Chinese government. Last year, officials in Shanxi province dynamited the sanctuary of Golden Lampstand Church, one of China’s largest houses of Christian worship.
   And that’s not all. Here in the States, a Louisiana man was just charged with setting fire to three African American churches in St. Landry Parish. And just last week, in the wake of the Notre Dame fire, New York police arrested a philosophy professor at St. Patrick’s Cathedral who was “carrying cans of gasoline and lighter fluid.” Heaven only knows what he had planned. [It turns out he definitely did plan to set the church on fire. -Stan]
  Of course, in addition to hundreds of people tragically killed by Islamic militants in the Sri Lanka terror attacks on Easter Sunday, many church buildings were devastated too.

   Godless governments, racists, radical Islamists, and common arsonists seem to understand that places matter, especially sacred spaces. But before the smoke had even cleared above Notre Dame last week, well-meaning Christians took to social media to remind us that the Church isn’t a building, it’s a people. Of course, that’s true… in the same way that a family isn’t a house. But that doesn’t make it less tragic, painful, or awful when someone’s house burns down! Why are so many, especially evangelical Christian, so quick to dismiss the importance and value of tangible beauty and creative expression, including sacred space?

   Since the very first days of the early church, Christians have struggled with the temptation to stray into a Gnostic way of thinking. Gnosticism takes various forms, but believes that the material world is ultimately bad, and therefore only “spiritual” things matter.

   Terrorists, racists, and vandals attack sacred space because of what it means, not only to those who worship but to the histories of the communities in which they exist. Sacred space is defined by a purpose, set aside for the worship of God. When the early Christians were finally free to publicly worship, they responded by setting aside space for corporate and individual worship, some that are amazing feats of architecture and design. For two millennia Christians sought to fill these spaces with beauty—in art, song, and in reverence. It’s an amazing heritage.

   The fact that so many churches today are seen primarily as functional spaces, and therefore made to look like shopping malls or performance venues, suggests that we’ve lost something. Charles Taylor called it “disenchantment.” That’s a fancy way of describing how a sacramental view of reality has been replaced by an efficient, functional view.

   Of course, true worship often happens in plain, simple buildings. The book of Acts describes a pretty amazing worship service once held in a Philippian jail. Still, the human impulse to beautify spaces, and to mourn the loss of spaces points to a truth about God and ourselves. Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky may have overstated it when he said “beauty will save the world,” but to downplay the loss of beauty is to miss something very important about ourselves and our world.

   No, buildings aren’t the Church. But in a time when attacking church buildings has become a favorite means of attacking God, His people, and even cultural order, we should never forget what even arsonists and vandals know: that beauty matters, and stones can sometimes preach.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

RESOURCES
"Notre-Dame Cathedral Fire Not Arson But 875 French Churches Vandalized In 2018" - Dawn Geske | International Business Times | April 16, 2019; https://www.ibtimes.com/notre-dame-cathedral-fire-not-arson-875-french-churches-vandalized-2018-2785886
"In China, they’re closing churches, jailing pastors – and even rewriting scripture" - Lily Kuo | The Guardian | January 13, 2019; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/13/china-christians-religious-persecution-translation-bible

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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:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

The women of the persecuted church—in April, Open Doors is focusing on this group crucial to the spread of the gospel and thriving of the global Body of Christ. Throughout the world, 
women and girls are doubly persecuted: for their faith and for their gender. We invite you to step into their stories and pray with these sisters in Christ.
April 29 | IRAN - Pray with imprisoned house church leaders in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. Let’s pray that God would create ways to bring each of these believers comfort, strength and even a Bible.
*Names changed to protect identities

#2655 (4/28) SUNDAY SPECIAL: "Hard-Headed Historians and Soft-Headed Theologians - Without Resurrection, Our Faith Is in Vain"

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"HARD-HEADED HISTORIANS AND SOFT-HEADED THEOLOGIANS - WITHOUT RESURRECTION, OUR FAITH IS IN VAIN" - by John Stonestreet  and  G. Shane Morris, April 24, 2019; http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/04/breakpoint-hard-headed-historians-and-soft-headed-theologians/

    There’s a passage in N. T. Wright’s masterpiece, “The Resurrection of the Son of God,” in which he describes two kinds of people who refuse to even consider that Jesus actually rose from the dead: “hard-headed historians and soft-headed theologians.”

   The hard-headed historians proclaim that, when it comes to any supernatural event, “We can go no further.” People don’t rise from the dead, they say, and so Jesus didn’t either. Full stop. As methodological naturalists they refuse to consider anything supernatural.

   Those Wright called “soft-headed theologians” come in two types. The first type is captive to a kind of faux spiritual superiority, and believes that to even consider evidence outside of Scripture amounts to “a lack of faith.” The second type of soft-headed theologians are basically hard-headed historians with a twist. Also convinced that miracles aren’t “reasonable,” they proclaim it doesn’t actually matter whether Jesus rose from the dead. The real message of Easter is that “love conquers death,” or that “Jesus lived on in the hearts of His disciples,” or some other sort of rhetorical abstraction.

   Wright’s description came to mind the day before Easter when I came across the latest installment of Nick Kristof’s “occasional conversations with a Christian” series. Published in the New York Times, Kristof asked the president of Union Theological Seminary, Serene Jones, as he has several other religious leaders, to explain Christianity. Jones missed the mark throughout the interview, mocking the idea of substitutionary atonement, scoffing at the idea of “an all-powerful, all controlling omnipotent, omniscient being,” and calling the virgin birth “a bizarre claim.”
   But it was her answer to Kristof’s very first question that called to mind Wright’s book. 
Kristof asked Jones if she believed Jesus actually rose from the dead. She replied, “Those who claim to know whether or not it happened are kidding themselves. But that empty tomb symbolizes that the ultimate love in our lives cannot be crucified and killed… For me,” she went on to say, “the message of Easter is that love is stronger than life or death. That’s a much more awesome claim than that they put Jesus in the tomb and three days later he wasn’t there… What if tomorrow someone found the body of Jesus still in the tomb? Would that then mean that Christianity was a lie?”

   Well, Reverend Jones, the answer is “yes.” The earliest witness of the church, the thing that altered their Jewish faith, the thing that they lived and died for, was that Jesus not only rose from the dead, but that if He did not, as Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15, “our faith is futile; you are still in your sins… (and) we are of all people most to be pitied.”
   The message Reverend Jones thinks the resurrection proclaims—that love is more powerful than death—is neither earth-shattering nor unique to Christianity. Good heavens—it’s the message of “The Lion King.” But the Apostles didn’t preach some sort of ghostly Mufasa-like Savior. And they certainly didn’t suffer or die for a Disney-worthy truism.

   But even beyond what the Apostles thought happened, there are, as N. T. Wright aptly argues, at least two broadly accepted historical facts that have to be dealt with: first, the empty tomb, and second, the numerous encounters with the risen Lord, including by skeptics. It’s amazing that the grounding truth of all of Christianity rests not on a private vision from a prophet or the ruminations of a guru, but on a public event that happened in history, one fully open to scrutiny and investigation.

And people have investigated the resurrection. Lee Strobel was so convinced by the evidence, he went from atheist news reporter to follower of Jesus. And one of the most important atheist philosophers of the 20th century, Antony Flew, concluded: “The evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed miracles in any other religion. It’s outstandingly different in quality and quantity.”  

   You can investigate it too. If it happened, it’s the most important event in history. If it didn’t, Christianity is false. But the one thing the bodily resurrection of Jesus can’t be is simply unimportant.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

RESOURCES
"The Resurrection of the Son of God" - N.T. Wright | Fortress Press | 2003; https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/the-resurrection-of-the-son-god/n-t-wright/9780800626792/pd/26794?event=ESRCG
"He Has Risen: The Worldview of Easter DVD"- John Stonestreet, T.M. Moore | Colson Center | 2013 John Stonestreet, T.M. Moore | Colson Center | 2013; https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/has-risen-the-worldview-of-easter/pd/233489?event=ESRCG

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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:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

The women of the persecuted church—in April, Open Doors is focusing on this group crucial to the spread of the gospel and thriving of the global Body of Christ. Throughout the world, 
women and girls are doubly persecuted: for their faith and for their gender. We invite you to step into their stories and pray with these sisters in Christ.
April 28 | BHUTAN - A Drukpa father Urgen*and his son Tashi* were summoned to the district court for false allegations. Please pray with them to find favor with the court.
*Names changed to protect identities

#2654 (4/27) PRO-LIFE SAT: "250 Pro-Life Bills Have Been Introduced in State Legislatures in 2019, 50% Would Ban All or Some Abortions"

"250 PRO-LIFE BILLS HAE BEEN INTRODUCED IN STATE LEGISLATURES IN 2019, 50% WOULD BAN ALL OR SOME ABORTIONS" - Fr. Shenan J. Booquet,  APR 10, 2019 | https://www.lifenews.com/2019/04/10/250-pro-life-bills-have-been-introduced-in-state-legislatures-in-2019-50-would-ban-all-or-some-abortions/

     To anyone who’s been paying attention, it’s clear that the pro-life movement is gaining enormous momentum. However, if you still have any doubts about pro-life progress, you need only glance at Planned Parenthood’s latest press release, responding to data just published by the Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood’s former research arm.

   According to the Guttmacher Institute, since the beginning of this year over 250 pro-life bills have been introduced in over 41 states. Almost 50% of those bills would ban abortion in “some or all circumstances,” says the organization. In fact, according to Planned Parenthood’s analysis, legislators in seven states have proposed bills that would completely ban abortion, while six states are considering or have passed “trigger bans” that would ban abortion if or when Roe v. Wade is repealed.
   Elizabeth Nash, the Senior State Issues Manager at the Guttmacher Institute, linked the glut of pro-life bills to both the conservative shift on the Supreme Court, and the increasingly open efforts of the pro-life movement to enact total abortion bans. “Energized by a new Supreme Court, anti-abortion activists and politicians have kicked into high gear their decades-long agenda to ban abortion through a series of increasingly radical and dangerous abortion bans,” she stated. Nash claimed, disingenuously, that the pro-life bills being introduced “are about exerting control and power over pregnant people.”

   But, for the growing number of Americans who call themselves pro-life, this claim is simply absurd. The goals of the pro-life movement have nothing to do with controlling pregnant women; they have to do with protecting the lives of the unborn children that science and ultrasound technology have revealed beyond any shadow of a doubt to be just as fully alive and human as you or I.

   Extremist leftist organizations like Planned Parenthood, which have built their ideology on denying or conscientiously burying basic scientific truths, are struggling to remain relevant now that those scientific truths are so undeniable and publicly accessible, thanks both to technology and the tireless efforts of the pro-life movement.
   Indeed, the absurdity of the Guttmacher Institute’s ideological extremism is on display in Nash’s remark about pro-lifers wanting to control “pregnant people.” One of the pro-abortion movement’s latest dogmas is that men can get pregnant – i.e. so-called “transgender men,” which is to say, biological women who now claim that they are men. This claim is at least as absurd as the claim that the unborn child is just a “blob of tissue” that magically becomes a living human person either the moment the “pregnant person” (i.e. mother) decides that she wants the baby, or that the baby emerges from the birth canal.

Planned Parenthood Panicking
   Another immensely encouraging piece of news from the Guttmacher Institute’s report is that six states have only a single abortion facility left. In other words, these states are on the verge of eliminating surgical abortions from their borders even without passing legislation banning abortions. In fact, statistics show that the number of abortion clinics across the country has plummeted over the last two decades. According to Operation Rescue, in 2018 the total number of abortion clinics in the U.S. fell to 697. That’s a decrease of 79% since 1991. The Washington Post blames many of these closures on the successful passage of pro-life progress in legislation.

   The massive growth in such pro-life legislation, and closure of abortion clinics, coincides with a dramatic decrease in the U.S. abortion rate. According to the CDC, the U.S. abortion rate reached a historical low in 2015. That translates into millions of lives saved.

   Planned Parenthood President Dr. Leana Wen sounds panicked, as well she might. “Today, the reality we live in is a terrifying one for women around the country,” she claimed. As is typical of Planned Parenthood, Wen deceptively attempted to link the reduction in abortion clinics to disruptions in access to services like cancer screenings and STD and HIV testing. In reality, pro-lifers have thoroughly debunked Planned Parenthood’s past claims to offer mammograms (Even the pro-abortion Washington Post had to admit that pro-lifers were right). Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood’s own public numbers show that most of their non-abortion-related services have been declining for years, while abortions keep climbing.
   However, Wen is quite right when she bemoans the fact that “access to abortion care is disappearing in states.” But far from a “terrifying” reality for women, this means that many more young girls will have a chance to be born, rather than being flushed down the drains at Planned Parenthood’s abortion facilities before they ever even have the opportunity to pursue their dreams. So, too, many more young women will have the opportunity to pursue a happy, meaningful life without carrying the burden of shame and regret that so often follows after accepting Planned Parenthood’s bleak, self-centered, and murderously-maintained worldview.

   Crucially, many of the bills introduced around the country are so-called “heartbeat bills,” which would ban abortion after the point when the baby’s heartbeat can be detected. Let us be very clear. Every abortion should be prohibited by law since conception onwards. But these heartbeat bills are a big step in the right direction. Such bills would not only prevent the overwhelming majority of abortions from taking place but present a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. If passed into law, such bills would inevitably be challenged in court, ultimately ending up at the Supreme Court, which would have the opportunity to revisit the notorious case that ushered abortion-on-demand into the United States. Pro-abortion activists clearly believe that they may very well see Roe v. Wade overturned within months or a few years. It’s up to us, with God’s grace, to ensure that their fears are well-founded.

   Interestingly, even many of the massive liberal corporations which, in the past, have not hesitated to use their influence to threaten individual states if they should pass legislation that goes against the leftist agenda have declined to publicly oppose the heartbeat bills being introduced in states like Georgia. I think the reason why is obvious: public opinion is trending pro-life. Corporations that threatened Georgia for passing religious liberty legislation a few years ago know that they can’t risk associating their brand with the killing of unborn babies.

The Pro-Abortion Movement’s Worst Year Ever?
   Amidst the hundreds of pro-life bills that have been introduced, a more conservative Supreme Court, a president who seems determined to fulfill his pro-life promises in the face of any amount of backlash, and the release of what may well be the most successful pro-life movie ever made – "Unplanned," telling the story of former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson – the abortion industry in the United States seems set to have what may well turn out to be its worst year since the Supreme Court first passed Roe v. Wade.

   That said, pro-lifers should be wary of growing even a little bit complacent. Pro-abortion forces are terrified, and in response they are rallying their supporters and legislative allies to push back…hard. As Planned Parenthood noted in its release, the pro-life bills “have triggered a counter response from constituents and reproductive health care champions”. This, in part, explains the glut of attempts (some of which have been successful) to pass laws enshrining the most extreme versions of legal abortion in states like New York and Virginia.

   We live in chaotic times, and there is much to be worried about in terms of the state and future of our culture. However, if respect for the sanctity of human life is, as Pope St. John Paul II so often proclaimed, the necessary foundation for a healthy society, then it would seem we have great reason for both hope and gratitude: gratitude that so many lives are already being saved thanks to our country’s pro-life direction, and hope that within our lifetimes we may yet see the end of the reign of terror that is legalized abortion-on-demand.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

LifeNews Note: Fr. Shenan J. Boquet is the president of Human Life International. Reprinted with the permission of Human Life International at hli.org.
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"President Trump is a Pro-Life Champion Who Has Fought Abortions Up to Birth and Infanticide" - Dave Andrusko, APR 24, 2019; https://www.lifenews.com/2019/04/24/president-trump-is-a-pro-life-champion-who-has-fought-abortions-up-to-birth-and-infanticide/

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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:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

The women of the persecuted church—in April, Open Doors is focusing on this group crucial to the spread of the gospel and thriving of the global Body of Christ. Throughout the world, 
women and girls are doubly persecuted: for their faith and for their gender. We invite you to step into their stories and pray with these sisters in Christ.
April 27 | MALAYSIA - Pray for Amri Che Mat (missing since November 24, 2016) and Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife, Ruth Sitepu (missing since November 30, 2016). Pray for further “breaks” in their cases and, ultimately, safe return to their families.
*Names changed to protect identities

#2653 (4/26) "They've Only Just Begun"

"THEY'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN" 

-  Cal  Thomas, Apr 23, 2019; https://townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/2019/04/23/theyve-only-just-begun-n2545157

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    Objectivity, like Elvis, long ago left the building in Washington and so the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller is being read and interpreted through mostly biased eyes. Democrats, who had counted on Mueller to prove that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia, were initially as crestfallen as they were on election night 2016. Still, they are undeterred in the pursuit of their ultimate goal: evicting the president from the White House in a political coup unprecedented in American history.

   The special counsel was established to investigate collusion, though not by Trump's political opponents during the 2016 presidential race, who allegedly funded the infamous Steele dossier, which purported to describe Trump cavorting with prostitutes and other sick behavior during a visit to Moscow. After more than two years of investigations, subpoenas, witness testimony and millions of dollars wasted, Mueller's report concluded, "The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities." As for obstruction of justice, how does one obstruct something that is not a crime?

   Predictably, Democrats are not satisfied. Out of desperation and exasperation, some are alleging a cover-up by Attorney General William Barr. Others want to immediately begin impeachment proceedings. For which high crime and misdemeanor?
   More experienced Democrats, such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) are rightly cautious. They remember the electoral damage to Republicans when members of that party impeached Bill Clinton. Which wing of their party will prevail?
   Politico represents the fallback position for some on the left: "Forget collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice." Say what? "The most concrete takeaway from the 448-page Mueller report is its damning portrait of the Trump White House as a place of chaos, intrigue and deception, where aides routinely disregard the wishes of a president with little regard for the traditional boundaries of his office..." Maybe so, but bad behavior and disobeyed presidential orders are not impeachable offenses. Let voters decide.

   Imagine how President Trump must have felt. Not only the establishment, which includes Democrats and Republicans, but the major media were constantly assaulting him starting before the election and ever since. Some critics have accused him of paranoia, but as the saying goes, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you." And out to get Trump they are.
   Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberly Strassel writes: "President Trump has every right to feel liberated. What the (Mueller) report shows is that he endured a special counsel probe that was relentlessly, at times, farcically obsessed with taking him out."
   Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said: "It is increasingly clear that the only scandal here is the Obama administration's repeated failure to act against Russian cyber meddling, and instead, how they prioritized spying on a political opponent -- the Trump campaign -- and used a phony DNC-funded dossier as justification."
   When President Obama was asked about Trump's charge that the 2016 election might be rigged against him, Obama responded: "No serious person out there ... would suggest somehow that you could even rig America's elections."

   Add this "witch hunt" to the long list of reasons many Americans hate Washington. None of this political show affects average citizens, who are benefitting from a booming economy, job growth, lowest unemployment in half a century (including minority unemployment) and fewer people receiving food assistance. What does this have to do with more important issues, including illegal immigration and foreign policy?

   The left doesn't want Americans to focus on the administration's successes, because they are incapable of doing better. They can only repeat their familiar scenario of higher taxes, bigger and more controlling government and "free stuff" for all.

   The president and his allies have threatened a counterattack to expose corruption at the Justice Department, which created this fiasco. They should begin immediately.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]
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"Mueller Investigation Was Driven by Pious Hypocrisy:" - Victor Davis Hanson / @VDHanson / April 25, 2019; https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/04/25/mueller-investigation-was-driven-by-pious-hypocrisy

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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

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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

The women of the persecuted church—in April, Open Doors is focusing on this group crucial to the spread of the gospel and thriving of the global Body of Christ. Throughout the world, 
women and girls are doubly persecuted: for their faith and for their gender. We invite you to step into their stories and pray with these sisters in Christ.
April 26 | BRUNEI - Pray that God would grant boldness among Brunei youth to boldly express their faith in Christ and overcome the constant pressure to convert to Islam. Ask the Holy Spirit to give them both wisdom and strength.
*Names changed to protect identities

#2652 (4/25) "On Earth Day, Gloomy Predictions Haven’t Come to Pass"

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"ON EARTH DAY, GLOOMY PREDICTIONS HAVEN'T COME TO PASS" - Nicolas Loris / @NiconomistLoris / April 22, 2019 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/04/22/on-earth-day-gloomy-predictions-havent-come-to-pass

     Through investment in new technologies, and through legislation, environmental trends have improved significantly in the United States. (Photo: Tom Kelly/Getty Images)

     This Earth Day, it almost feels like we should be carving some turkey. Why? Because we have a lot to be thankful for since the first Earth Day event occurred 49 years ago.We should be thankful that the gloom-and-doom predictions made throughout the past several decades haven’t come true. Fearmongering about explosive population growth, food crises, and the imminent depletion of natural resources have been a staple of Earth Day events since 1970. And the common thread among them is that they’ve stirred up a lot more emotions than facts.
   “By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up crude oil at such a rate … that there won’t be any more crude oil,” ecologist Kenneth Watt warned around the time of the first Earth Day event. “You’ll drive up to the pump and say, ‘Fill ‘er up, buddy,’ and he’ll say, ‘I am very sorry, there isn’t any.'” Watt also warned of global cooling and nitrogen buildup rendering all of the planet’s land unusable.

   The issue, however, is that present trends don’t continue. They change dramatically for a number of reasons. Innovation happens. Consumer behavior changes. Importantly, price signals play a huge role in communicating information to energy producers as well as consumers.
   Higher prices at the pump encourage companies to extract and supply more oil. Expensive gas prices, meanwhile, motivate entrepreneurs to invest in alternatives to oil, whether that’s batteries, natural gas vehicles, or biofuels. Drivers will examine their consumption options as well, whether carpooling, finding alternative modes of transportation, or, over time, purchasing a more fuel-efficient vehicle.
   Here we are, 19 years past Watt’s arbitrary deadline, and drivers are pulling up to the pump saying, “Fill ‘er up, buddy” (figuratively speaking, as Watts also didn’t foresee self-service stations) without any cause for concern.

   Thanks to human ingenuity and the entrepreneurial drive of energy producers, the United States is now the world’s largest oil producer, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and continually breaking records.

   While global energy poverty and food insecurity remain a pressing challenge, the problem is getting much better, not worse. World Bank and United Nations data show extreme poverty and global hunger has noticeably dropped since 1970. And according to the International Energy Agency, the number of people without access to electricity fell to below 1 billion people for the first time.

   Clearly, there’s work to be done. But signs are pointing in the right direction.
   In the United States, the common perception is that the country’s environmental state is deteriorating. On the contrary, through investment in new technologies, and through legislation, environmental trends have improved significantly in the United States.
   Pollutants known to cause harm to public health and the environment are declining. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest air quality trends report, the combined emissions of the six common air pollutants have decreased 73% between 1970-2017.

   We should be thankful for economic liberties that provide people with the means to protect the environment. As a country grows economically, it increases the financial ability of its citizens and businesses to care for the environment and reduce pollutants emitted from industrial growth. Countries with greater economic freedoms have cleaner environments and greater environmental sustainability. The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom and Yale University’s Environmental Performance Index show a highly positive correlation between a country’s environmental performance and its economic freedom.
   Freer economies have access to more products and technologies that make our lives healthier and the environment cleaner. For instance, the availability of simple products such as soaps, cleaners, and detergents makes our homes dramatically cleaner and healthier. The development of sanitation systems and availability of garbage collection greatly reduce many types of diseases and reduce toxins in the air and water. These products and services may not be what immediately comes to mind on Earth Day, but they’ve had an enormous impact on cleaning up the planet.

   And we should be thankful for clearly defined and protected private property rights. One of the first lessons I learned in economics is that nobody washes a rental car because you don’t care for what you don’t own. Property rights are a central hallmark in the United States and around the world for improved environmental stewardship, conservation and health of species, wildlife, habitats, forests, and other resources. The absence of enforced private property rights in developing country remains one of the largest barriers to improved prosperity and environmental well-being.

   Catastrophic but unlikely gloom-and-doom predictions will continue to grab media headlines, but free societies with the protection of property rights are tried and true pathways to a healthier, cleaner world. As we reflect on the progress we’ve made as a free society, let’s celebrate and be thankful.

[Originally Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC]

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

Nicolas Loris, an economist, focuses on energy, environmental and regulatory issues as the Herbert and Joyce Morgan fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Read his research.

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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:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

The women of the persecuted church—in April, Open Doors is focusing on this group crucial to the spread of the gospel and thriving of the global Body of Christ. Throughout the world, 
women and girls are doubly persecuted: for their faith and for their gender. We invite you to step into their stories and pray with these sisters in Christ.
April 25 | CHINA - Please pray with Uyghur Christians who have been detained along with hundreds of thousands of Muslim Uyghurs held in re-education centers.
*Names changed to protect identities

#2651 (4/24) "Missing the Power of the Cross"

"MISSING THE POWER OF THE CROSS" - Tony Perkins, Washington Watch, April 19, 2019; https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA19D46&f=WU19D14

     Just a little over a month ago, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on a World War I monument honoring 49 men who died in the war to end all wars. The memorial, built by the American Legion in 1925, is just 10 miles from SCOTUS in Bladensburg, Maryland. As they have in most towns, the American Humanist Society sued the city, demanding it tear down the 43-foot tribute that's been standing for almost 100 years. The reason? The memorial is a cross, which the humanists say violates the so-called separation of church and state.

   It's hard to imagine how the monument -- which has been in place for 94 years -- is suddenly in violation of the Constitution. The families who dedicated the memorial in 1925 to the fallen soldiers would have never imagined this country tearing down the cross. But, if the Supreme Court were to uphold the lower court decision, it could lead to -- not just this cross being torn down -- but crosses all across the nation, including Arlington National Cemetery.

   There are a lot of people, including FRC's legal experts, who believe there's a good chance the justices will decide in favor of the Peace Cross. But the court would most likely reach that decision by seeing the cross as a purely symbolic and historical statement. 
   As Justice Stephen Breyer said about the cross's age, "History counts. But no more." In today's world, he argued, such an overt reference to the religion wouldn't be acceptable. "We're a different country. We are a different country now, and there are 50 more different religions."
   Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg seemed skeptical that the cross could survive constitutional scrutiny on historical grounds. "It is the pre-eminent symbol of Christianity," she said. "People wear crosses to show their devotion to the Christian faith." 

   Both of their statements miss the most important point of all: the power of the cross. Whether it's a memorial to mark the graves of those who sacrificed their lives for freedom or the victims of a tragic accident on a highway, or a shooting at a public school, there's a reason people turn to the cross when faced with the reality of mortality and the beckoning of eternity. As Paul wrote, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." [italics and colored emphasis mine]

   There are a lot of ways we can miss the life-transforming power of the cross. We can have the wrong focus -- concentrating on religion instead of a personal relationship with Jesus. We can have the wrong spirit, believing it's about God's judgment, not God's redeeming love. Or, we can have the wrong priorities, thinking it's about us and this world instead of about God and His kingdom.

   Jesus certainly understood the power of the cross. Of course, part of that resolve was because He knew it was God's plan. "For the Lord God will help me," Isaiah 50:7 tells us, "therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed."

   Our call to follow Him requires the same resolve. "If anyone desires to come after Me," Jesus said, "let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." It's only in the total surrender to a relationship with Jesus, accepting God's redemptive love and forgiveness, that we can genuinely experience the life-transforming power of the cross.

....ask yourself: Does my life reveal the power of the cross?

[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:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

The women of the persecuted church—in April, Open Doors is focusing on this group crucial to the spread of the gospel and thriving of the global Body of Christ. Throughout the world, 
women and girls are doubly persecuted: for their faith and for their gender. We invite you to step into their stories and pray with these sisters in Christ.
April 24 | INDONESIA - Indonesia has the largest population of Muslims in the world—approximately 13 percent. Pray for churches as they minister. Ask God to show them how to connect with Muslims in relevant ways.
*Names changed to protect identities