ATTENTION: SCROLL DOWN to get TODAY'S entitled in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. PLEASE be sure to note the various PRAYER REQUESTS listed BEFORE and AFTER the posted article. (NOTE each day's DAILY prayer requests for the persecuted church.)
Questions for Our President:
PRAYER ALERT
URGENT: Pray for the effective distribution of the COVID vaccines to all Americans.
Pray for the healing of all infected with the virus throughout the US and the world.
*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)
*Pray for 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. [2/13/19 – This day marked ONE YEAR since her kidnapping.
PERSONAL UPDATE: 4/25 - Note my latest entry in the JOURNAL section on the right side of this page.
From the Presidential Prayer Team:https://www.presidentialprayerteam.org/daily-prayer-
JUNE 2 -* For God to be at work through the negotiation efforts today on the "infrastructure" bill.
*For God to use both the president and Congress to accomplish His will for the nation.
DECLARATION FOR LIFE: Please be sure to sign this at: https://www.focusonthefamily.com/pro-life
BE Prepared TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST ABORTION
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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"BIDEN'S BRUTAL BUDGET FOR THE UNBORN" - Tony Perkins, FRC, May 28, 2021, Biden's Brutal Budget for the Unborn (frc.org)
Joe Biden got a lot of exercise during the 2020 campaign sprinting to the Left. He turned himself inside-out to prove his radical cred to everyone from Planned Parenthood to Squad socialists. But his biggest surprise, at least after 40 years of saying otherwise, was his flip on taxpayer-funded abortion. Pushed and prodded by reporters and activists, the self-professed Catholic finally took a question on the Hyde amendment that sealed the deal with his party's extremists. Asked by a liberal voter about the wall between taxpayer dollars and abortion, Biden replied: "It can't stay." Two years later, the test of whether he meant it has finally come. And the answer is: he does. When Biden released his first budget proposal this week -- a $6 trillion boondoggle of every Leftish wish under the sun -- there was one thing noticeably absent. For the first time since 1976, a president presented a budget that didn't protect the American people from paying for them. To the liberal media establishment, it was the clearest sign yet that Biden has come full circle. "A budget blueprint that omits the Hyde amendment and other anti-abortion provisions could be Biden's strongest statement yet..." Politico agreed.
Of course, Joe Biden didn't exactly need to prove his radical bona fides. He's already made more pools of government money available for abortion spending than any president -- including Barack Obama. Whether taxpayers realize it or not, this administration has opened up $479,905,584,775 dollars to the killing of innocent unborn children, almost 20 times what Obama allowed. In just four months, FRC's Connor Semelsberger points out, Biden is poised to do more damage in one term than Obama did in eight years!
Until Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016, the idea of forcing open Americans' wallets and ordering them to pay for the destruction of life was never really a question. Bill Clinton called for it in 1993 but never succeeded. The Hyde amendment's history, as Biden's pre-presidential run showed, was a story of bipartisan consensus. Even radical Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) admitted, "This is one of those things where it's hard to change people's minds. I don't think we're quite there yet."
And she's not just talking about her own more moderate colleagues. The American people are solidly against the idea -- and have been since pollsters started asking. Just this past January, the Marist organization found Democrats may have staked out new ground on the issue -- but voters haven't followed. Almost 60 percent of Americans don't want their money financing abortion, including 31 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of Independents). As even liberal outlets like Slate have been trying to warn Biden's party, this idea isn't as nearly popular as Democrats think. On the legality of abortion, it's a smorgasbord of opinions. "But on the question of direct payments, most voters agree with the GOP. If Democrats make that question a litmus test," Slate's William Saletan says, "they'll regret it."
Of course, the Democratic Party has never really let public opinion (or human dignity) get in the way of their radical agenda. As we speak, Democrats in Congress aren't waiting for Biden's budget proposal to move forward with this disastrous 180-degree turn. Leftists like Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who just took over the House Appropriations Committee, have already started the drumbeat to kick the four decades-old Hyde to the curb. Her party got a good start with the $1.9 trillion dollar COVID relief bill this March, which -- despite three Democratic senators joining the GOP -- fell a handful of votes shy of protecting the unborn in every area of the proposal's funding.
It's a dramatic contrast to the states, where legislatures are moving just as fast to tighten up pro-life laws and pass new abortion limits. In the last handful of months, at least four states -- Idaho, Arkansas, Montana, and Oklahoma -- took a bite out of the abortion industry's budget, defunding groups like Planned Parenthood by name or in broader appropriations. (To see how your state stacks up, check out FRC's Pro-Life Maps! >Pro-life State Policy Maps (frc.org) ) As many as 15 other states have similar proposals in the pipeline.
That momentum isn't lost on the White House or Democrats, Politico says. "With states pushing forward a new wave of sweeping abortion restrictions and the Supreme Court gearing up to hear a direct challenge to Roe vs. Wade, progressives have been pressing Biden to move fast." And so far, he seems quite content to oblige them. If that surprises Biden voters, it shouldn't.
This is the same radicalism that Democrats spelled out plainly in their last two party platforms. And frankly, it's what Biden promised to do. If squishy Republicans or misled Christians were under the impression Democrats would lighten up after Biden took the reins, they were either painfully naïve or desperately trying to justify their vote. Either way, the unborn will pay the price. And at $6 trillion dollars, it's a steep one.
For more on the history and importance of the Hyde amendment, check out FRC's resource by Connor Semelsberger here > https://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF20L09.pdf
[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 one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer."- Stan
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“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, I soon realized it was not just a word for me, but for all who have been praying for our nation, wondering if their prayers are truly making any difference. Bill told me, “I kept seeing you as a small rudder on a huge ship. Hidden, but giving guidance. Although it seemed slow it was turning the whole ship. Patience was needed to see the impact of your…ministry. I sense the Lord saying, ‘Don’t jump ship! I’ve made you the rudder!’ ” I was immediately touched in my spirit by this encouragement, knowing that our seemingly small place in prayer was having a great impact.
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 throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14) Short of that, we should not be saying "God Bless America"but instead "God be merciful towards America!"
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:
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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/
Hope for the Middle East: Open Doors has a seven-year plan to pray for the church in the Middle East as Christians heal and rebuild in the years after war and the Islamic State group’s invasion. Join our multi-year Hope for the Middle East Prayer Campaign as we lift up requests from believers in Iraq and Syria. You can also visit ODUSA.org/Pray4ME to learn more.
May 30-31: One of our partners in Syria asks: “Pray that all our partners grow in discernment of God’s will for them and for Syria, and that they go out of their way to reach the marginalized, particularly the Muslims. May there be an awakening that brings the good news to thousands upon thousands of Muslims, and may our church leaders be inspired to love and welcome them with arms wide open.”
*Representative name or photo used to protect identity.
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 shared how Sariman, their co-student, was hacked to death.
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 as she showed the picture of her father who was stabbed to death for sharing the gospel.
I remember the voice of Pastor Daniel in Vietnam as he shared how he was chained to the ground for six months.
I remember the fear of Grace from Sudan as she shared how her church was attacked and her friend was shot through the head.
Oh, I remember the cries of Caleb in Eritrea as he shared with tears how two dear friends were executed in front of him because of their faith.
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?
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