ATTENTION: SCROLL DOWN to get TODAY'S article entitled in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. PLEASE be sure to note the various PRAYER REQUESTS listed BEFORE and AFTER the posted article. (NOTE the list of DAILY prayer requests for the persecuted church.) They ALL deserve your intercession.
THANK YOU.
PRAYER ALERT:
1 - URGENT - 1) Pray for unfolding violent actions taking place in Venezuela and for America’s and other Latin American countries to respond appropriately;
2) Continue to pray for the Jewish congregants who suffered a devastating anti-semitic attack in San Diego, and for the Christians and others in Sri Lanka suffering from the recent Easter Sunday attacks.
3) PRAY that the present uproar at our southern border will be resolved without further violence. PRAY also that our leaders will finally implement an effective border policy that will prevent these incidents in the future.
4) Pray for U.S. Pastor David Lin in China (see "Something Serious Is Happening In That Dark Place" - Tony Perkins, Washington Watch, April 09, 2019; https://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20190409/something-serious)
5) Pray for Asia Bibi and her family to finally be able to leave
6) Leah Sharibu is a courageous Nigerian Christian teen girl held captive by Boko Haram. The Islamic militia is threatening to kill or enslave her because she won't renounce Jesus Christ. Pray that the UN will intervene in her release. [2/13 – This day marked ONE YEAR since her kidnapping.]
ATTENTION!
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. The revised total shows that I fell only $21 short of my adjusted goal Praise God for all that was given!
DECLARATION FOR LIFE: Please be sure to sign this at: https://www.focusonthefamily.com/pro-life
PERSONAL UPDATE: 4/15- Note my latest entry in the JOURNAL section on the right side of this page.
5/ 3 - PRAY for the President and others in leadership (1 Tim. 2:1-3)
Heavenly Father,
I pray that you will guide President Trump to seek YOU with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength in the New Year. May he act with wisdom and strength against those whose actions would bring harm to this nation and the world now and for generations to come. I pray that you would strengthen his marriage and deepen the love he and his wife Melania share. Pray that you give them wisdom to speak into the life of their son Barron. Please protect him and his family and others in our leadership from physical harm that any might seek to do against them. May all that our President does bring honor and glory to YOU and cause him to draw in closer relationship with you. I ask this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ, Amen. P.S. - 3/27: I just finished reading the newly released book, "The Faith of Donald J. Trump" that the public library had and sent to me. Greatly recommend you read it to better understand our 45th President.
(from Intercessors For America
*For a fruitful conversation between the President and Secretary of State as they meet over lunch.
*For wisdom for the President as he meets with Slavic Prime Minister Pellegrini to discuss recent gains in bilateral security cooperation and concerns on cyber threats.
*For safety for the Vice President as he travels to Louisiana and KY.
*For wisdom for President Trump, Cabinet members and advisers determining the best course of action for the United States in Venezuela.
*For all the negotiations being undertaken on trade with many of America’s trading partners.
*For wisdom for the president as he faces the probability of another round of investigations by Congress.
*For the new leadership of the Department of Homeland Security in advancing plans for dealing with the security and humanitarian crises at the southern border.
*For God to guide the president and make clear the decisions that he should make related to foreign policy.
*For wisdom for the President as he meets with Slavic Prime Minister Pellegrini to discuss recent gains in bilateral security cooperation and concerns on cyber threats.
*For safety for the Vice President as he travels to Louisiana and KY.
*For wisdom for President Trump, Cabinet members and advisers determining the best course of action for the United States in Venezuela.
*For all the negotiations being undertaken on trade with many of America’s trading partners.
*For wisdom for the president as he faces the probability of another round of investigations by Congress.
*For the new leadership of the Department of Homeland Security in advancing plans for dealing with the security and humanitarian crises at the southern border.
*For God to guide the president and make clear the decisions that he should make related to foreign policy.
*For safe travel for members of the administration who are making trips abroad.
*For the military leaders of the U.S. and Turkey to come to a working arrangement over America ’s departure from Syria
*For unity in Congress as they work to solve the many pressing issues that face the nation.
*For guidance for President Trump as he works on a variety of issues, that God’s will would be accomplished through him.
*For guidance for President Trump as he works on a variety of issues, that God’s will would be accomplished through him.
(...because ALL Babies Matter! - http://www.lifenews.com/2017/03/01/why-do-unborn-babies-matter-just-because-they-are/ : Go to: LIFE Training Institute - http://prolifetraining.com/resources/five-minute-11/
Be Prepared TO ENGAGE WITH THE PC CULTURE:Go to:"Tactics" -
http://townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams/2016/04/29/tactics-n2154983
"Don't Argue the Exceptions - Beating Bad Arguments For Abortion and Transgenderism" - by John Stonestreet, Breakpoint.org, May 25, 2017; http://breakpoint.org/2017/05/breakpoint-dont-argue-exceptions/
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"JOAQUIN PHOENIX AND 'THE GOSPEL OF MARY' - GNOSTIC FICTION COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU" - by John Stonestreet and G. Shane Morris, Breakpoint.org, May 1, 2019; http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/05/breakpoint-joaquin-phoenix-and-the-gospel-of-mary/ [AS I SEE IT: Years ago, it was "The DaVinci Code." Now we have another movie that purports to tell what they say is an unknown story related to Christianity. As Christians decide how to spend their entertainment dollars, they again need to be sure they support movies that are rooted in truth and not man-made stories with false agendsa. - Stan]
Judging by the trailer and the press roll-out, the movie will draw heavily on a second-century Gnostic text known as “the Gospel of Mary.” In a recent interview with Newsweek, Phoenix slammed early Christianity for not canonizing this and other apocryphal writings about Jesus, saying: “Why was Mary’s book not included in the Bible? The stench of blatant sexism,” he says, is “inescapable.” Phoenix went even further in another interview: “Somebody made that decision to exclude [Mary Magdalene’s] observations and feelings about the life of Christ and her experience. There seems to have been an overt intention to exclude women from that process.”
The truth is, no one excluded Mary Magdalene’s experiences. Scholars universally agree that she didn’t write this so-called gospel. Along with other texts like “the Apocryphon of John,” and “the Sophia of Jesus Christ,” “the Gospel of Mary” was never recognized by the Church as part of the New Testament. The reason is that it is an obvious forgery. The Gospel of Mary is a work of fan-fiction by members of a false religion who attempted to co-opt Jesus for their own purposes. True to the pattern of other Gnostic texts, the “Gospel of Mary” claims that Jesus delivered a private revelation to its namesake that radically contradicts the canonical gospels.
Even more, the Mary Magdalene revealed in the Bible is the best response we have to the accusation that early Christianity was sexist. Recall that she is reported as the first witness of the risen Lord—a claim that would have scandalized first-century Jewish readers. In that culture, the testimony of a woman was considered worthless, yet she and several other women were entrusted to take the message of Christ’s resurrection back to His disciples, and those disciples were hesitant to believe them. If the four gospels were written to make Jesus’ male followers look good at the expense of the women, they did a lousy job.
Authors like Alvin J. Schmidt and Rodney Stark have documented that Christianity—far from oppressing women—radically elevated their status in the ancient world. It’s hard for us in 2019 to grasp just how revolutionary the Apostle Paul’s words were that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
And speaking of important background material, Joaquin Phoenix grew up in a pseudo-Christian cult that seems to have soured him toward religion. While we should be sensitive to that experience, we have to admit he’s no expert. Even so, his unfounded statements and the false story this movie tells will strike many as convincing, in the same way Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” did a few years back.
The good news is, we live in what I like to call the “golden age of good arguments.” There is a wealth of apologetic resources available that ably debunks the idea that the Gnostic gospels were unfairly suppressed or that they offer any new information about the life of Jesus. We’ll link you to just a few of those resources at BreakPoint.org.
The problem isn’t that the answers aren’t available. The problem is that the answers rarely reach as many people as the falsehoods do from the publishing industry, the media, or Hollywood—which, like the Gnostics of old—never tire of producing false Christianities and false Jesuses.
Our job is to learn the answers, to engage in conversations, to dialogue about those answers, and to do our best to set the record straight.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
RESOURCES
The Rise of Christianity- Rodney Stark | HarperOne | 1997; https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/the-rise-of-christianity/rodney-stark/9780060677015/pd/7710X?event=ESRCG
Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World- Josh McDowell, Sean McDowell | Thomas Nelson | 2017; https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/evidence-demands-verdict-changing-skeptical-world/josh-mcdowell/9781401676704/pd/676704?event=ESRCG
"Why Shouldn’t We Trust the Non-Canonical Gospels?" - Mary”? - J. Warner Wallace | November 1, 2017;http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/05/fabricated-faith-why-shouldnt-we-trust-the-non-canonical-gospel-of-mary/?key=facebook
"Why Shouldn’t We Trust the Non-Canonical Gospels?" - J. Warner Wallace | April 18, 2018; https://coldcasechristianity.com/category/writings/non-canonical-texts/
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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
“INTERCESSORS ARE THE RUDDER” – A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT - Wanda Alger, June 28th, 2017; https://www.getamericapraying.com/blog/I was recently given a word by my good friend, Bill Yount. His word greatly encouraged me as an intercessor. Working for Intercessors for America
James 3:4 talks about the power of a small rudder to steer a large ship. In this scripture about the power of our tongue, consider the power of prophetic intercession! In the Forerunner Commentary on this verse we read, “…rudders manipulate the course of immense ocean vessels with a slight movement of a pilot’s hand. Since it is underwater and aft, the rudder of a ship does its work UNSEEN. A passenger is ignorant of its movements most of the time. Yet, when it is in proper working order, the rudder holds more power over the ship than the wind. The wind will blow, toss, even destroy the ship’s rigging, but the rudder guides the ship exactly where it directs.”
This is God’s promise to the intercessors in this hour of national turbulence. Don’t stop praying! Your prayers have great power to turn the ship! Continue praying, interceding, and discerning the workings and movements of the Holy Spirit, being faithful to God’s commands. As we come together to declare God’s faithfulness, this nation will, once again, head in the direction that God intends. Don’t give up and don’t give in. Regardless of the winds of adversity and the fires of the enemy, God’s people have a power that cannot be matched. Let us join in faith and continue to pray and speak of God’s faithfulness in order to bring God’s people and this nation into the fullness of God’s plans. Note this additional encouragement from God’s word:
Colossians 2:15 – “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (ESV).
Psalm 33:8-11 – “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.”
Wanda Alger, IFA Field Correspondent
PRAY FOR AMERICA : THANK GOD for His many blessings on America AMERICA America "but instead "God be merciful towards America
PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS: 1) Pray for President Trump and his advisers, that they would select Godly leaders at the federal level who will be accountable to do an excellent job (or be fired!) ; that he would seek God's wisdom and be enabled to lead our country effectively in the years ahead; and 2) Pray our leaders at every level of government will Spirit-filled, leading us with Godly wisdom and integrity; that they will only pass legislation and enact policies that will benefit Americans today as well as future generations and NOT do any lasting harm.
SUPREME COURT: PRAY that the justices will only hand down decisions that are Constitutionally sound and in the best interests of our country now and for future generations.
World-Wide Prayer Requests:
PRAISE GOD for the continuing recent successes against
*For believers in Syria
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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/
On the world’s second-largest continent, Christians throughout Africa are enduring severe persecution. In May, Open Doors is focusing on African believers suffering from both oppression
and physical violence. Please join us in praying with our brothers and sisters in these places where peace is elusive and conflict is ever-present.
May 3 | LIBYA - Please pray for peace in this country torn apart by civil war where chaos remains constant. Pray for believers’ protection and that the hearts of non-believers would be open to receive the Good News.
*Names changed to protect identities
and physical violence. Please join us in praying with our brothers and sisters in these places where peace is elusive and conflict is ever-present.
May 3 | LIBYA - Please pray for peace in this country torn apart by civil war where chaos remains constant. Pray for believers’ protection and that the hearts of non-believers would be open to receive the Good News.
*Names changed to protect identities
STANDING STRONG THROUGH THE STORM - OpenDoorsUSA.org
At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.- 2 Tim. 4:16
SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THOSE WHO SUFFER
The Apostle Paul knew exactly what it was like to be alone, to be deserted by all who called themselves “brothers” and “sisters.” A former colleague who has done considerable travel among the persecuted says, “It is hard to believe that Christians are the largest persecuted group in the world today. But it is even more difficult to believe that this is so seldom mentioned in our gatherings and church services. More Christians know the names of their favorite actors than their fellow believers who are in prison.”
He continues, “With every trip something in my heart breaks as I hear the echoes of suffering:
I remember the echoes of an Egyptian mother as she shared how her young boy was stuck in a haystack because she refused to deny Jesus.
I remember the sounds of weeping as fellow students in Indonesia
I remember the cries of anguish as we walked from church to church that was burned to the ground on the island of Lombok
I remember the tears of Rebecca in Iran
I remember the voice of Pastor Daniel in Vietnam
I remember the fear of Grace from Sudan
Oh, I remember the cries of Caleb in Eritrea
And I remember the tears of Joy in the southern Philippines as she shared how her fiancé was shot to death in their church in Mindanao .
But, most all, I remember the deafening sounds of silence every time I return home.
RESPONSE
How can I be silent today? How can I not speak on behalf of those who suffer? How can I desert those that belong to the same body that I belong to and who desperately need the encouragement of my intervention?
I'm not really sure what to think about this Mary Magdalene movie. The article doesn't state what the supposed revelation to Mary is in the Gospel of Mary and it seems that the controversy around the movie is that it elevates Mary's status as a fellow disciple. (She was a disciple for Jesus had hundreds, but she was not one of the twelve.)
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the movie may have been created to intentionally cause controversy and challenge the traditional views of Christianity (which is probably not a good intention).
Someone challenged me to read The DaVinci Code book, so I did and it was very interesting. It provides a fictional narrative where the protagonist discovers Jesus's descendants through a winding path of riddles/puzzles/danger. Of course, I don't believe it's true.
As for whether the Church suppressed testimonies that could have been true, I have heard this argument: The gospels aren't cannon because the Church said they were cannon - the Church said they were cannon because the Church recognized what was already true - that these gospels were inspired by God and already cannon before anyone said they were. God does not contradict himself and one must test the spirits to see what is from God and what is not.
This article has so much potential for discussion, but these are just my two cents.
-herb