#2677 (5/20) "Why Are So Many Christians Being Persecuted?"

"WHY ARE SO MANY CHRISTIANS BEING PERSECUTED?" - by Stan Guthrie, Breakpoint.org, May 2, 2019; http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/05/why-are-so-many-christians-being-persecuted/

     Outside the Saint Sebastian Church in Negombo, Sri Lanka, posters display photos of the dead. One shows a woman and three children. It reads, “Rest in peace for Pradeep Susanthas and his whole family, who were killed in the church attack. Our deepest sympathies.” The church, about 20 miles north of the capital city of Colombo, was the scene of the worst carnage from the Easter Sunday suicide bombings.
   Fittingly, the church is named for Sebastian (d. AD 288), who was clubbed to death in Rome during the reign of Diocletian. Initial reports said that more than 100 Christians died during Saint Sebastian’s Easter service in Negombo. In all, more than 250 people—Sri Lankans and internationals—were murdered in coordinated Islamist attacks on April 21 against three churches and three hotels across the island nation.

   These high-profile attacks were just the latest examples of persecution committed against Christians. Other atrocities have been just as deadly, but usually without much international outcry.
   Between mid-February and mid-March, more than 300 Nigerian Christians in seven predominately Christian villages have been slaughtered, including 270 in Kaduna state, by Muslim terrorists.
   In Egypt, Muslim extremist groups have attacked 900 churches over the last five years.
Over the last two years in China, crosses have been removed from 1,500 church buildings, and Catholic churches and shrines have been desecrated or destroyed in the provinces of Hebei, Henan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, and Shandong. 
   In Guangzhou, the capital of China’s Guangdong province, Communist Party officials are offering a reward of about $1,500 to anyone who provides information about underground churches, secret Christians, and unsanctioned religious activity. Some pastors and church members are being jailed. Last year, officials in Shanxi province used dynamite to level the sanctuary of Golden Lampstand Church, which is one of China’s largest houses of Christian worship. Observers are calling this the worst crackdown against Christianity since the Cultural Revolution.
   One advocacy group suggests that 50,000 Christians may be locked away in North Korea’s prison camps. Some 200,000 North Korean Christians may have disappeared in the totalitarian state since 1953.
   Four years ago, members of the Islamic State kidnapped and beheaded 21 Egyptian Copts on the beach in Sirte, Libya. A couple of months later, the terrorist group released a video showing the murder of 30 Ethiopian Christians.
   Even Western Christians face troubling trends. In the months leading up to the Notre Dame cathedral conflagration (apparently accidental) in France, more than 800 churches were looted, befouled, and vandalized.

   According to the Center for Religious Freedom of the Hudson Institute, these examples are just the tip of the iceberg. On average, about 345 Christians are killed each month on account of their faith and around 105 churches or Christian buildings are burned or attacked. While, tragically, Muslims and Jews are also terror targets, around the world, one in nine Christians experiences some form of persecution. You wouldn’t know it from a steady diet of Western media.

   As Ross Douthat of The New York Times said, “One of the basic facts of contemporary religious history is that Christians around the world are persecuted on an extraordinary scale — by mobs and pogroms in India, jihadists and United States-allied governments in the Muslim world, secular totalitarians in China and North Korea. Yet as an era-defining reality rather than an episodic phenomenon this reality is barely visible in the Western media, and rarely called by name and addressed head-on by Western governments and humanitarian institutions.”

   The $64,000 question is, “Why?” Why are Christians facing such frequent, yet little-noted, persecution now?  A look at the annual World Watch List of Open Doors, which tracks the fifty countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, provides some clues. In the 2019 reporting period, 245 million Christians experienced what the WWL calls “high levels of persecution,” compared with 215 million the previous year.
   The first eleven practice “extreme” forms of persecution. The worst persecutors are, in order: North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen, Iran, India, and Syria. Rounding out the Top 20 are these nine, which engage in “very high” levels of persecution: Nigeria, Iraq, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam.

   Religious nationalism is a key factor in many of these nations, including the atheistic, cultish regime in North Korea, the thirteen Muslim-dominated states, mainly Orthodox Christian Eritrea, Buddhist Myanmar, and largely Hindu India. The communist regimes in Uzbekistan (also mostly Muslim), Laos, and Vietnam also actively oppose the churches and Christians in their midst.
   Officially atheist China, the world’s largest communist state, is only No. 27 on the list, but its suppression of underground churches is getting worse. Just one nation in the Top 20 is a democracy—India.

   Persecution of Christians in our day is mostly at the hands of militant Muslims, in a modern-day echo of the Crusades (except that only one side is doing the killing). But it also comes from atheists, Hindus, Buddhists—and even from those who call themselves Christians.

   All this should be no surprise to real Christians, of course, whose Master warned, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you…. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:18, 20a).
   The old, interconnected conflict between Christ and Caesar, between God and the gods, continues unabated, in or out of the spotlight. Persecution in fact is unavoidable.
   The ancient Christian martyr Sebastian would agree. He expected spiritual and physical opposition but was undeterred, saying, “The devil strains every nerve to secure the souls which belong to Christ. We should not grudge our toil wrestling them from Satan and giving them back to God.”
   When it comes to persecution, perhaps the question we ought to ask shouldn’t be “Why?” but “Why not?”


[italics and colored emphsis mine]

Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He is the author of Missions in the Third Millennium.

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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/

     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 19 | VIETNAM - Praise the Lord for raising up believers to help translate
the recent printing of the Bible in various Vietnamese tribal languages. Pray that those who received a copy will share the gospel with others.
*Names changed to protect identities

#2676 (5/19) SUNDAY SPECIAL: "Defining and Defending Religious Freedom - A Helpful Acronym"

"DEFINING  AND DEFENDING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM - A HELPFUL ACRONYM" - by John Stonestreet and G. Shane Morris, Breakpoint.org, May 16, 2019, http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/05/breakpoint-defining-and-defending-religious-freedom/ [AS I SEE IT: It's discouraging that the survey noted below says that concern over threats to religous freedom in America has actually decreased significantly among church leaders. It's a great concern that so many gauge their attention to the issue based simply on who is President rather than being vigilant no matter who leads our  country. It may just mean it's up to the individual believer to make sure his church leadership is aware of the threat rather than assuming the needed concern will be there. - Stan]

     We’ve not seen in the United States, at least in recent memory, so many efforts to force Christians to act in ways that violate their consciences. Almost always, these demands are made in the name of sexual freedom—whether we’re talking about nuns being forced to provide contraception, bakers and florists having to participate in gay weddings, or adoption agencies being forced to place kids with same-sex couples.

   What makes these stories even more discouraging is how many Americans—especially Christians—don’t seem to understand our first freedom or even care all that much about it. According to a new survey by Barna, the number of Americans who say that religious freedom means “being able to believe and practice the core commitments and values of your faith” is still a majority, but it’s falling; down 14 percent since 2012.

   Even more troubling, pastors seem to be losing interest in the issue. Barna reports that just five years ago, a strong majority of Protestant clergy said they were “very concerned” that religious freedom would become more restricted. In the latest survey, that number fell to a paltry 34 percent. Barna editor-in-chief, Roxanne Stone says it’s easy to stop caring “when we feel protected by those currently in power.” But in doing so, Christians risk becoming just “another tribal group” jockeying for special favors from Washington. If we want to keep our freedoms after a new president is in the White House, we have to learn to “make the case for religious liberty as a positive social value for all people.” In other words, we have to be able to argue for this freedom as if it’s more than a retreat strategy.

   This is, of course, a real challenge in a culture where increasing numbers of people think religion should be kept private, and sexual preferences should be made public. Somehow, we must make the case that religious liberty is not only a good worth preserving, but that it’s essential to a free society.

   You might have heard of “S.L.E.D.” It’s an acronym which stands for “Size, Level of development, Environment, and Degree of dependency.” It makes the argument for unborn life simple and focused, even when things get emotional. It’s memorable and reusable.
   For a long time now, I’ve wished there were a “S.L.E.D.” for religious freedom—something to help us remember the arguments and make the case in a convincing way. Well, my colleague Shane Morris has just came up with one: “F.R.E.E.” Free is an acronym that can walk you through an intelligent conversation about religious liberty.

F is for Forcing. Forcing people to go against their beliefs for no good reason is a bad thing. This is a premise that even most secular people should be able to get behind.
R stands for Reason. Is there a good reason to force a religious person to go against his or her belief in the case you’re discussing? And are there less burdensome alternatives to squashing this freedom, like using a bakery down the street or an adoption agency across town?
The first E is for Examples. Offer examples that the person you’re talking with may not have thought of or heard of. Should a Muslim t-shirt designer be forced to create shirts mocking the prophet Muhammad? Should an Orthodox Jewish club at a university be forced to admit Christians as officers? Should an LGBT baker be forced to bake a cake with anti-gay slogans?
The final E is one I think they’ll love: Equality. Christians who don’t agree with the new sexual orthodoxy should be equally free to live according to their faith, without being compelled to violate their consciences. Don’t hesitate to turn it around as a question: “If you think Muslims and Jews should have religious freedom in the examples we gave, why not Christians?”

   It’s not a silver bullet, nor does it say everything that we’ll need to about religious freedom, but “F.R.E.E” can help you have a conversation that’s intelligent and focused. If we can discuss religious freedom in a way that cuts through the rhetoric—the way many of us have learned to talk about abortion—we’ll have a chance of preserving this freedom no matter who’s in office.

 [italics and colored emphasis mine]

RESOURCE 
Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty: What Belongs to God, What Belongs to Caesar
David S. Dockery, John Stonestreet, et al | Fidelis Books | 2019; https://colsoncenter.givingfuel.com/ea1905hb

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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/

     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 19 | VIETNAM - Praise the Lord for raising up believers to help translate
the recent printing of the Bible in various Vietnamese tribal languages. Pray that those who received a copy will share the gospel with others.
*Names changed to protect identities

#2575 (5/18) PRO-LIFE SAT: "Sweet Womb Alabama"

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"SWEET WOMB ALABAMA" -  Tony Perkins, Washington Update, May 15, 2019; https://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20190515/womb-alabama [AS I SEE IT; Be SURE to read the quote by a rape victim who eloquently expresses why there should not be an exception for rape in any pro-life legislation; WOW! what a testitmony. - Stan]

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    It’s the state of Selma and of Martin Luther King Jr. It was where Rosa Parks took a stand by taking a seat. Now, that same Alabama isn’t just home to the civil rights movement, but a human rights movement. And liberals couldn’t be more irate. That’s because this bill isn’t about ending abortion in Dixie. It’s about ending abortion period.

   H.B. 314 may say Alabama at the top, but both sides know: the bill’s real target is a lot bigger. And State Rep. Terri Collins (R) isn’t shy about saying so. “This bill is about challenging Roe v. Wade,” she insisted – a decision that claims “the baby in the womb is not a person…” Well, Collins argued, “[O]ur law says it is.” It’s time for the Supreme Court to rethink 46 years of abortion in America, she says. “I have prayed my way through this bill. This is the way we get there eventually.”

   To give the legislation a better shot at the high court, the bill’s sponsors outlawed abortion in every case but one: if the life of the mother is at stake. State Senator Bobby Singleton (D) tried to add an exception for rape and incest, but his amendment was gaveled down. In a meltdown that went viral, Singleton erupted in a nonsensical tirade at pro-lifers, shouting, “You just aborted the state of Alabama with your rhetoric with this bill! You just raped Alabama with this bill that you about to send out here! And the governor, when you sign it, you just raped the state of Alabama yourself! …You just raped every little baby, you just raped every little girl, you just raped every woman who been raped by women, you just raped her all over again!” he repeated. “Yes I said it! And I hope your conscience is eating your head up! She was pregnant with this bad bill, and you just aborted her!”

   If the Human Life Protect Act was controversial, no one told the Alabama House or Senate, who sent the bill sailing to Governor Kay Ivey’s (R) desk with two landslide votes: 74-3 and 25-6. Most of them agree with Ainsworth, who said simply, “Abortion is murder. Those three simple words sum up my position on an issue that many falsely claim is a complex one.” Based on polling, that doesn’t just sum up his position, but the position of almost 60 percent of state voters. Abortion extremists can pressure Alabama all it wants, Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed (R) told reporters, but make no mistake: “This bill will become law because Alabamians stand firmly on the side of life.”

   When Governor Ivey officially gets a copy of the bill this afternoon, the clock will start ticking on her six-day window to sign the law. [She signed the bill later than evening.] And you can bet liberal Democrats will spend every minute pressuring her to take the cowardly way out. Already, a string of hair-on-fire abortion activists – from Planned Parenthood’s southern network to half the field from 2020 – are leaning on Ivey to stop the bill. Calling it “outrageous,” “dangerous,” even “exceptionally cruel” the Democratic candidates were tripping over themselves to be more incensed than the next guy. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) -- the same Democrats hoping to persuade voters that killing a newborn baby is a “personal choice” – reminded everyone just how out of step they are by arguing that pro-lifers had no business being legislators. Others, like the ACLU, Cecile Richards, and Leana Wen [both with Planned Parenthood], took issue with the fact that Alabama refuses to punish an unborn baby for the circumstances of her conception.  

    People like Rebecca Kiessling understand. They’re living proof that even through something as horrendous as rape, God can still do something miraculous. Because of her mothers’ courage, she’s been able to engage in a pro-life movement that’s changed thousands – if not millions – of hearts.
   Back in 2012, Kiessling had a chance to sit down with Texas pro-life Governor Rick Perry and explain to him, “When you make that rape exception, it’s like you’re saying to me that I deserved the death penalty for the crimes of my father. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, my father didn’t even deserve the death penalty. The Supreme Court has said there is no death penalty for rapists. But you say that I, as the innocent child of rape, deserved the death penalty?” He never fought for a rape exception again.

   And there are more Rebecca Kiesslings that people might think. At the March for Life a few years back, NRO’s Kathryn Jean Lopez posted a powerful picture of a group of pro-lifers, who were all conceived in rape. “These lovely women want you to know that they are people, not hard cases.” Just last week, Ryan Bomberger – who’s never met his birth mother – made a moving video on his birthday, May 5, dedicated to his mom. “On this day, many years ago, I was born. Some say I should’ve been aborted. I was adopted and loved instead.”

     We should all be grateful that Alabama understands what the rest of the Left does not: every life has potential.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]
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"Alabama Governor Kay Ivey Signs Bill Banning Abortion, Would Make Killing Unborn Babies a Felony" - Steven Ertelt, MAY 15, 2019,https://www.lifenews.com/2019/05/15/alabama-governor-kay-ivey-signs-bill-banning-abortion-would-make-killing-unborn-babies-a-felony/ 

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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/

     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 18 | MALAYSIA - Recently, five foreigners were caught by police for distributing Christian magazines on the streets. Such actions are considered an offense to Malaysia’s Penal Code. Pray with these believers.
*Names changed to protect identities

#2674 (5/17) "Taxpayer-Funded PBS Promotes Far-Left Agenda to Kids"

"TAXPAYER-FUNDED PBS PROMOTES FAR-LEFT AGENDA TO KIDS" - Tony Perkins / @tperkins / May 16, 2019 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/05/16/taxpayer-funded-pbs-promotes-far-left-agenda-to-kids [AS I SEE IT: PBS (as well as NPR) have been guilty of pushing a liberal, anti-family agenda for decades. It's about time the public stopped supporting their efforts with their tax dollars. Thankfully, President Trump has finally been a preident who has done  something towards that end. - Stan]

     In the 22nd season of "Arthur," Mr. Ratburn walks down the aisle on the arm of an aardvark named Patrick. (Photo: Screenshot from PBSkids.org)
     “Arthur” isn’t just the longest-running cartoon series on television—it’s also the most controversial. That’s all thanks to PBS, who’s spent the last umpteen years using its half-billion taxpayer dollars promoting the agenda of the far left. Now, apparently, that agenda includes pitching same-sex marriage to kids as young as 4—and using one of their favorite characters to do it.

   The episode, part of “Arthur’s” 22nd season, is called “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone.” Naturally, Mr. Ratburn’s third-grade students (and every child watching) thinks that “special someone” is a female. So imagine their surprise when Mr. Ratburn walks down the aisle on the arm of an aardvark named Patrick. The show cuts to Arthur, who’s still trying to process the idea. Then suddenly, he and his friends break into happy smiles.
   One parent who tuned in contrasted the characters’ reaction to her own children’s. “The [cartoon] children are a bit surprised but mostly nonchalant about the whole thing. Needless to say, in the real world, our children were shocked and confused.”

   Of course they are. The target audience for the show is pre-school and elementary kids. They barely know the alphabet—let alone L-G-B-T.

   For PBS, though, this is all par for its liberal course. Taxpayers have fought for years to stop the government’s broadcasting arm from sexualizing kids on everything from the Muppets to “Sesame Street.” When Donald Trump became president, one of the first things his budget proposed was slashing the $445 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The left always pleads with Republicans to lay off Bert and Ernie, but what they really mean is: Don’t stop funding the left’s free microphone.

   For years, NPR and PBS have taken advantage of the airwaves to spout their radical agenda. And in the end, taxpayers are the ones that have been puppets—for the left. But now that PBS has shown that it can’t be trusted, it’s time for Big Bird’s liberal friends to feather their own nest.
   “Remember,” the Family Research Council’s Cathy Ruse says, “Americans didn’t ask for a re-definition of marriage. It was forced on them by activist judges, who overturned tens of millions of votes cast to keep marriage a man-woman institution. But gay activists are not satisfied with just changing the law—people must change their beliefs, too. There can be no dissent. Children are not asking for their cartoon characters to be gay—activists in the entertainment industry are forcing it on them.”

   Which is all the more ironic, considering how “impressionable” liberals say kids are when it comes to something like religion. Out in Pennsylvania, secularists were hyperventilating that students had been exposed to the words “God Bless America.” They’re too susceptible to messages like that, they said. They might be overly affected by the idea of faith, they argued.
   
    But throw a same-sex wedding in a popular cartoon, or pornographic sex ed material in the classroom, or Drag Queen Story Hour at the local library, and somehow it’s perfectly OK. That’s the double standard of liberal activism. It’s fine to indoctrinate kids—as long as they’re the ones doing the indoctrinating.

   Moms and dads, be warned. “Children’s entertainment is no longer informed by a Judeo-Christian values system, but by left-wing political interest groups,” Ruse cautions. “Now more than ever, parents have to be vigilant about the media their children consume. Parents trust shows made for children, and the creators of the show are taking advantage of their trust.”
   Thanks to today’s technology, there’s no reason to sit your kids in front of live TV and wait for messages like this to assault them. If you’ve run out of “VeggieTales” and are looking for shows you can trust, don’t give PBS a second thought. Try a Christian media provider like JellyTelly.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

Tony Perkins is president of the Family Research Council. [Originally published in Tony Perkins’ Washington Update, which is written with the aid of Family Research Council senior writers.]
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"Sheltering Little Aardvarks" - by G. Shane Morris, Breakpoint.org, May 15, 2019, http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/05/sheltering-little-aardvarks/

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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/

     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 17 | SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES - Praise God for an in-house discipleship program for
teenagers supported by Open Doors. Ask God to strengthen these young men.
*Names changed to protect identities

#2673 (5/16) "US-Iran Standoff Is No Cause for Alarm"

"US-IRAN STANDOFF IS NO CAUSE FOR ALARM" - James Carafano / @JJCarafano / May 15, 2019 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/05/15/us-iran-standoff-is-no-cause-for-alarm/

The Air Force dispatched B-52H Stratofortress bombers to Qatar over the weekend in response to intelligence reports of credible Iranian threats. (Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

     Iran says it’s not interested in a war with the United States. The U.S. says it’s not interested in a war with Iran. The only parties who are making war talk are the press and pundits who just can’t help fretting about all things Trump.

   Still, there’s plenty to unpack and learn from the latest round of unsettling news from the Middle East.
   One reason for the war talk is that Iran is threatening to stop complying with the Iran nuclear deal, the agreement negotiated by the Obama administration in 2015 to curtail Tehran’s nuclear program. Critics were apoplectic when President Donald Trump withdrew from that deal. Iran’s announcement last week got them worked up all over again. They had convinced themselves that it was either the Iran deal or war. Now, they just assume there will be war.
   But in their anger, they forgot that their support for the Iran deal was largely based on myths. Iran never stopped its destabilizing activity in the region after signing the agreement. The deal never improved prospects for better relations between Washington and Tehran.

   Still, some expressed concern over new reports of a muscular U.S. military deployment to the region, which was provoked by intelligence of an impending Iranian covert action. Those concerns made no sense. The U.S. move was intended to pre-empt escalation, not prompt it. 

   Finally, this week we saw reports of attacks or sabotage against Saudi tankers and pipelines in the Persian Gulf. The facts on this latest provocation are still in short supply. Some claim that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen may be behind these malicious acts.

   Still, there are many rungs in the ladder of escalation between what’s happening now and war—and there are no signs either side is really interested in climbing much higher.
   From the U.S. perspective, the campaign to isolate and pressure the Iranian regime seems by and large to be working. Tehran is increasingly short on cash, faces serious internal dissent, and has little international support.
   From Tehran’s perspective, this is an inopportune time for a showdown with Washington. They would rather wait Trump out and hope to get a more pliant next president.

   Still, it does serve their interest to stir the pot of troubles, hoping to fuel a backlash against Trump that might help oust him from office. But they can’t press too hard. Unseating Trump isn’t worth provoking a war with the United States. What Tehran doesn’t get is that if anything, Americans are likely to appreciate Trump being tougher on Iran. Americans know Trump didn’t start these troubles. Tehran did.
   In 1978, Ayatollah Khomeini made America his enemy. During that same year, Trump was a 32-year-old real estate developer in New York City. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in high school. They didn’t start this dust-up. 
  Seven American presidents before Trump have had to deal with Iran’s malicious meddling in the Middle East. Trump inherited this problem—he didn’t create it. 

   What this latest incident shows is that Trump is perhaps the first president to commit to dealing with the Iranian regime in a sustained and serious way. He is pressuring them until they stop messing with America’s vital interests, and showing the willingness and resolve to do that for the long term, if that’s what it takes.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

James Jay Carafano, a leading expert in national security and foreign policy challenges, is The Heritage Foundation’s vice president for foreign and defense policy studies, E. W. Richardson fellow, and director of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies. 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/

     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 16 | GUINEA - Ousmane is a young convert from Islam. When his parents discovered his conversion, they threatened his life. He has gone into hiding. Pray for strength and comfort.
*Names changed to protect identities

#2672 (5/15) "Praying for Howard Stern"

"PRAYING FOR HOWARD STERN" - by Bill Brown, Breakpoint.org, May 13, 2019; http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/05/praying-for-howard-stern/ [AS I SEE IT: What a great article encouraging us to pray for those who influence untold millions but who we would not think of praying for. I myself have been praying regulaly for years for people from Opra Winfrey to Queen Elizabeth and other members of the royal family of Great Britain. I remember once hearing that "YOU may be the only person (or one of the few people) who pray for someone." I also try to faithfully pray for the cultural leaders and influencers noted by the Hollywood ministry "Mastermedia" (see link below). The death in recent days of actress Doris Day and comedian Tim Conway - both of whom I regretably never took time to pray for - makes me hopet that someone had been praying for them. Do our prayers make a diference? I believe that when we lift a person as well as a need up to God, it is always heard and we can trust it is somehow being answered. It's part of what excites me about  Heaven; I SO look forward to hearing how my prayers may have impacted this or that life or situation. How about YOU? Who or what are YOU praying for? Let's trust God together that He will be faithful to hear and somehow answer every prayer we lift up for someone. P.S. - Don't just stop at praying for Hollywood celebrities; be sure to include leaders in government - ours and those of other  countries. Question: What heart can God not move?  - Stan]

     Almost four years ago, five-year old Heavenly Joy Jerkins blew away the audience and judges of America’s Got Talent with her rendition of “In Summer” from the movie Frozen. Howard Stern, one of the celebrity judges, shook his head in wonder at her vocal range and infectious personality. “I think Shirley Temple is living somewhere inside of you,” he told her. Heavenly responded quickly, “Not Shirley Temple. Jesus!”
   “There you go. Now you’re talking,” Stern said as the crowd responded with thunderous applause.  Watch it here. ["Heavenly Joy Jerkins makes a divine impression on ‘America's Got Talent’" - byTresa Patterson  AXS Contributor Jul 1, 2015; https://www.axs.com/news/heavenly-joy-jerkins-makes-a-divine-impression-on-america-s-got-talent-59750]

   Seeing Howard Stern on a family show was surreal. He called his four-year stint as a judge on America’s Got Talent, “the most shocking thing in my career” – this coming from the king of shock-jocks who regularly stunned (and delighted) his listeners/viewers with uber-sexualized content.  His shows are designated “mature,” but he panders to adolescent voyeuristic impulses.

His forte is interviewing celebrities – actors, public figures (he has interviewed Donald Trump 39 times), athletes, porn stars – and leading them to give up deeply personal and embarrassing insights. He has parlayed his routine into a $90 million annual paycheck – and single-handedly kept Sirius XM on the air where he has two uncensored channels.

   Many Christians regard Howard Stern as the epitome of debauchery, but there is much more to see. And I have been praying for him for over twenty years. I must pray, otherwise I fall into the trap of self-righteously condemning him. Celebrities are the royalty of American culture and despite their wealth and adulation, their lives can be unnaturally pointless. When I hear Christian speakers ridiculing celebrities, I feel a twinge of discontent. A Christian worldview, if it means anything practical, means we see people differently. The apostle Paul reminds us, “From now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

   For most of my adult life, I have prayed almost daily for specific celebrities. The list is long. I pray for God to bring people and circumstances into their lives to draw them to Christ. And I pray God will give me eyes to see them as He does. I pray for them expectantly, so I am particularly alert when someone I am praying for is in the news.

   I only know Howard Stern in excerpts from his show, interviews and his writing. And it is clear his life is pivoting in a new direction. Even though Stern is listed among “celebrity atheists,” it seems God keeps showing up in his life. Fifteen years ago, Stern admitted on his show he had picked up the Bible and started reading. He was surprised at how easily the Bible read. He wondered aloud if his resonance with the Bible was an indication he must believe in God. Co-host Robin Quivers noted she thought it was silly some people turn to God at the end of their lives and start praying for forgiveness. Stern divulged he was not waiting until the end; he prays to God even if he has a cold.

   A 2017 diagnosis of cancer shook him deeply. He found himself terrified, facing death. The experience gave him a different lens to view his life. His celebrity trajectory fooled him into thinking he was doing everything right – including being a husband and father.
   Looking back at his career, he admits he has regrets. He hates his earlier books. He has apologized to many he offended while interviewing. He regrets focusing on the salacious and outrageous when his interviews could have been substantive and helpful. He admits he was using people to play to his audience.

   So, what is next for Howard Stern? He has signaled he may be finished with his radio program when his contract is up next year. He has a book coming out this month. But it seems gloomy moving ahead under a cloud of regrets from past missteps. Maybe his future will be more shaped by reading the Bible, praying when he has a cold, and a little girl named Heavenly Joy who has Jesus in her heart. That’s my prayer.

   There are quite a few ministries providing insights into celebrities and how to pray for them. I go to The Hollywood Prayer Network http://hollywoodprayernetwork.org/ and Mastermedia International. http://www.mastermedia.com

Bill Brown, PhD, is the Senior Fellow of Worldview and Culture and Dean, Colson Fellows

[italics and colored emphsis 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

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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 15 | NIGER - When Sahoura, 13, accepted Christ, her family threatened her with beatings. The young girl is now living with a Christian family and is being trained as a tailor. Pray with

Sahoura as her newfound faith grows. 
*Names changed to protect identities

#2671 (5/14) 'When Reality Bucks Certain Liberal Wishes and Dreams"

'WHEN REALITY BUCKS CERTAIN LIBERAL WISHES AND DREAMS" - Ed Feulner/ @EdFeulner / May 13, 2019 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/05/13/when-reality-bucks-certain-liberal-wishes-and-dreams/ [AS I SEE IT: The unique approach of the President to our economy  as a businessman has thus far had unexpectedly great results. To add to what the author of this article says, however, I believe we must be doing more to reduce the out-of control federal defecit and not be doing things that merely add to it. The President's multi-trillion dollar proposal for infrastructure reform (that seems to be an attempt to work with Democrats) thus far looks like another "stimulus package" of recent years that did not have a way to effectively pay for itself. Let's be praying that more can be done to reduce, and not add to our nation's dangerously high defecit problem. - Stan]

     Many liberal economists predicted gloom and doom under President Donald Trump, but the unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been in almost 50 years. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

    “We are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight.” That was New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, making a prediction on election night in 2016 about what we could expect under President Donald Trump. Month after month, however, Krugman’s crystal ball has proven untrustworthy. But surely vindication would come sooner or later, right? After all, Krugman’s not just any columnist. He’s a distinguished professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center. He won the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. And he wasn’t alone in predicting gloom and doom under Trump. Many other liberal economists foresaw catastrophe on the horizon.

   Fast forward to the latest monthly employment numbers, though, and you find reality simply refuses to play along with their hopes, er, prognosis. Again, we got some stellar figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In April, the economy created some 263,000 jobs, even better than the already impressive 213,000 jobs per month that has been created on average over the last year. We’re now up to 103 straight months of job creation. 
   The unemployment rate is at 3.6%. That’s the lowest it’s been in almost 50 years. You’d have to go back to the days of the first moon landing to get an employment rate this good. It’s 3.1% for adult women—the lowest since 1953—and 4.1% for Hispanics, which is the lowest it’s ever been.
   Wages, meanwhile, continue to grow, especially for those on the lower end of the economic scale. “The recent wage gains have been largest for those who need it most,” writes tax expert Adam Michel. “For the last six months, wage growth for production and non-supervisory workers outpaced the average for the entire economy.” 

   The continued good news has left a number of economic watchers more than a bit confounded. “The labor market the United States is experiencing right now wasn’t supposed to be possible,” writes Neil Irwin in The New York Times. If the conventional wisdom proved correct, for example, we’d be experiencing some serious inflation right now. Three years ago, the Federal Reserve was predicting 4.8% unemployment in 2019, with 2% inflation. Instead, of course, the jobless figure is a full 1.2 percentage points lower, and inflation is only 1.6% over the last year.

   Some liberals insist that Trump doesn’t deserve the credit—that what we’re seeing is simply a continuation of good economic news that began before Trump took office.

True, the job market had been improving for a while before he became president. But, Irwin writes, “After more than two years of the Trump administration, warnings that trade wars and erratic management style would throw the economy off course have proved wrong so far, and tax cuts and deregulation are most likely part of the reason for the strong growth rates in 2018 and the beginning of 2019.”

   Even as we savor the benefits of a strong economy (and enjoy how wrong the naysayers have once again proved themselves to be), this is no time to stand pat. Lawmakers need to keep tax rates and tariffs low. They can start by doing two things above all else.
   One, make the 2017 tax cut permanent. The cut has been doing some good work, but key provisions are set to expire after 2025. The economy will do even better once employers and businesses know the cut won’t be going away.
   Second, tame out-of-control spending. Politicians once took their responsibility to be sensible stewards of the national purse seriously, but profligacy has since become a way of life on both sides of the aisle. The tremendous amount of debt we’re accumulating will saddle future generations with higher taxes and less opportunity.

   And if we don’t attack this problem when our economy is so strong, when will we? So let’s act—and shore up the tremendous gains we’ve seen so far.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

Edwin J. Feulner’s 36 years of leadership as president of The Heritage Foundation transformed the think tank from a small policy shop into America’s powerhouse of conservative ideas. Read his research
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"New Jobs Report Shows Record Unemployment Lows for Hispanics, Women" - Timothy Doescher / May 03, 2019 /  https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/05/03/new-jobs-report-shows-record-unemployment-lows-for-hispanics-women/

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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/

     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 14 | NIGERIA - Ruth,* 24, converted to Christianity from Islam, which led her parents to disown her. A church elder took in Ruth, but after a year, Sharia police abducted her. Stand with Ruth in prayer as she faces pressure to revert to Islam.
*Names changed to protect identities

#2670 (5/13) "The Most Unequal of Them All" 

"THE MOST UNEQUAL OF THEM ALL" -  By Travis Weber, FRC Vice President of Policy, Washington Update, May 10, 2019; https://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20190510/most-unequal [AS I SEE IT: With liberal Democrats in control of the House, this bill is likely to pass THAT chamber. Praise God it will never make it past the Senate let alone be signed into law by President Trump. But just the fact that these threatening ideas are even put forward speaks to how far downward our culture and country has fallen. Join me in PRAYING against wrong-headed ideas such as this from bringing great harm to our country. - Stan]

     The Equality Act, by now quite familiar to all of us, will finally be voted on in the House [THIS] week. Its title sounds smooth and is designed to be attractive. But beneath the veneer, the faulty premises upon which it rests have poisoned the entire bill, which is irreparably tainted. If passed, its impact upon American life and culture can be summed up in one word: devastation.

   It starts by being built upon a lie—that one's sexual conduct is substantially the same as an immutable characteristic like one's skin color. Once cemented into law, this lie is ready to be forced into educational curricula around the country as activists use the courts in their shameless attempt to piggyback on the legacy of the civil rights movement. As women are steamrolled by the LGBT ideology enshrined in the Equality Act, feminists realize who their true friends are: conservatives.

    This emerging alliance is built on truth: biology, not ideology, dictates that we are men and women. Though physically different, we are equal in worth, and deserving of protection. Indeed, the very sex discrimination protections for men and women which we have had for decades are being steamrolled by the Equality Act's notion of "gender identity," which dismisses the concerns of women being forced to violate their privacy or compete against biological men in sporting competitions. 
   Women powerlifters competing with one another understand this. Why is it so hard for everyone else? Even [liberal] Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing many years ago about sex distinctions in the context of the Equal Rights Amendment, defended privacy for men and women in the context of bathrooms. Yet now all this is being willfully ignored.

   I actually do think there is a silent majority out there; many Americans agree that women shouldn't be forced to violate their privacy or compete against men -- but they need to find their voice; many are just too cowed and scared of those pushing the LGBT ideology right now to say anything. For the good of our children and our families, we need our fellow Americans know the truth and agree with us to find their voice and speak up.

   As if this embedded inequality for women was not enough, the Equality Act would expand abortion throughout our healthcare system, and put in jeopardy the long-standing conscience laws protecting those opposed to abortion, and even the Hyde Amendment which prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion. There are no protections for those that object to abortion under the Equality Act—just a right to abortion.

   Finally, the Equality Act would gut religious freedom. Even some houses of worship would be barred from ensuring their leaders and other employees abide by their own beliefs. Under the Equality Act, women who identify as men would have to be accepted as men and therefore potentially eligible to serve in positions reserved for men (such as a Catholic Priest or Jewish Rabbi). Under such restrictions, the gospel would slowly be choked off in American life.

   The vote in the House [THIS] week on this anti-family, anti-faith, anti-freedom, and pro-abortion legislation is a moment in our national life. It will not measure just who favors the ideology in the Equality Act, but who is in favor of forcing it on the neighbors, friends, co-workers, and fellow citizens. It is that coercive. It must be stopped.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

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"How Equality Act Would Promote Abortion" - Tony Perkins / @tperkins / May 09, 2019 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/05/09/how-equality-act-would-promote-abortion/
"Equality Act Could Impose Left-Wing LGBT Curriculum on Whole Nation" - Jarrett Stepman / @JarrettStepman / May 11, 2019; https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/05/11/equality-act-could-impose-left-wing-lgbt-curriculum-on-whole-nation/

---------------------------------------

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/

     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 13 | LIBYA - Pray for young female believers whose families force them to marry Muslim men. Pray that Christian women forced to marry would be kept safe and bold in sharing their hope.
*Names changed to protect identities