NEWS ALERT! - "16 Teens Rescued From Sex Trafficking in Super Bowl Sting "- by Rachael Denhollander | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 2/7/14; http://www.lifenews.com/2014/02/07/16-teens-rescued-from-sex-trafficking-in-super-bowl-sting/ "...Of the children recovered, some were as young as 13, and none older than 17. Many were runaways who had been lured by pimps seeking desperate children, while some others were children who had been reported missing by their families, and still others were foreign nationals..."
SIGN NEW PETITION - (Jan. 27) American Pastor Saheed Abidini - An Iranian leader has said that clemency for the pastor after almost 1 and 1/2 years being falsely imprisoned. Please sign this new petition at: http://beheardproject.com/ 2/6 - PRAISE GOD that after pastor Abedini has been unjustly imprisoned for over a year and a half, President Obama finally spoke out himself for the pastor's release as well as that of Ken Bae from North Korea (see below)!
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
PRAYER ALERT! - Soci, Russia, Olympics -1) TERRORISM THREAT: Let's be sure to be praying for God to move against all who would bring harm to the athletes and others. Pray that the security forces would be effective in rooting out any terrorist plans and preventing them from being carried out. Pray for the families of the athletes who must be very anxious for their loved ones being in harm's way; 2) EVANGELISM EFFORTS: Let's also be praying that the many efforts being made to share the gospel with athletes and visitors to the Olympic Games will be effective in seeing many respond positively and make decisions for Christ. Pray esp. that athletes and visitors from little evangelized countries will take the gospel back with them and share it with others.
Oct. 23: "Christians Fleeing IRAQ Area Once Considered Safe," - CBNNews.com, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/October/Christians-Fleeing-Iraq-Area-Once-Considered-Safe/ PRAY that believers in Iraq will know God's protection and provision; that believers will know[ whether they are called to flee or remain and persevere; and that their persecutors may come to hear the gospel and come to faith in Christ. - Stan]
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
Update on Kenneth Bae: "US Ready to Bargain with N. Korea for Bae's Release,"- CBNNews.com, Aug 14, 2013 http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/S-Ready-to-Bargain-with-N-Korea-for-Baes-Release/ - The United States is willing to engage North Korea to secure the release of imprisoned American Christian Kenneth Bae. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the United States is "willing to consider a number of different options" to bring him home.In a video recently released by a North Korean newspaper, Bae requested the United States send a high-ranking official to North Korea to seek his pardon. It is unclear if he spoke of his own volition in the video. Bae, 45, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for sharing his faith. He suffers health problems such as diabetes and is currently hospitalized.[PRAY for 1) God's healing of and presence with Pastor Bae, 2) His earliest release by the North Korean government, and 3) God's comfort for his family and friends.] Monday,
November 04, 2013 - Saeed's Life in [Greater] Jeopardy After Prison Transfer - CBNNews.com, ; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/November/Saeeds-Life-in-Jeopardy-after-Prison-Transfer/ IRAN - Vigils Mark One Year Imprisonment of Pastor Saeed - CBNNews.com, Thursday, September 26, 2013 - Today marks one-year that American pastor Saeed Abedini has been held in an Iranian prison. He is serving an eight-year sentence because of his Christian faith. It has been a year of torment as he has suffered beatings, physical pain from untreated medical conditions, and separation from his wife and two children... The suffering has not dampened his passion for Jesus. Pastor Abedini has led more than 30 prisoners to Christ during his time in prison. This afternoon, thousands of Americans from coast to coast will pray for his release. Events will be held in 40 states at capitols, city halls, parks and churches. Thousands more will join from 15 nations around the world
November 04, 2013 - Saeed's Life in [Greater] Jeopardy After Prison Transfer - CBNNews.com, ; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/November/Saeeds-Life-in-Jeopardy-after-Prison-Transfer/ IRAN - Vigils Mark One Year Imprisonment of Pastor Saeed - CBNNews.com, Thursday, September 26, 2013 - Today marks one-year that American pastor Saeed Abedini has been held in an Iranian prison. He is serving an eight-year sentence because of his Christian faith. It has been a year of torment as he has suffered beatings, physical pain from untreated medical conditions, and separation from his wife and two children... The suffering has not dampened his passion for Jesus. Pastor Abedini has led more than 30 prisoners to Christ during his time in prison. This afternoon, thousands of Americans from coast to coast will pray for his release. Events will be held in 40 states at capitols, city halls, parks and churches. Thousands more will join from 15 nations around the world
PRAY: - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.\
- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him
- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ
- BOLDly (Beside Our Leaders Daily) for leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans
- GO TO SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release
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"The Truth about Marriage and Poverty - Join in National Marriage Week" - By: Eric Metaxas|: Breakpoint.org; Jan 24, 2014; http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/24363--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the best ways you and your church can fight poverty is to work for healthy marriages. February 7 through 14 is National Marriage Week—“a collaborative campaign to strengthen individual marriages, reduce the divorce rate, and build a stronger marriage culture, which in turn helps curtail poverty and benefits children.” ... marriage’s benefits go beyond the personal—society itself benefits from strong marriages. Especially in the economic area.
We've heard a great deal lately about the growing economic divide and economic inequality. What we don’t hear enough about is the role that family formation—or more to the point, the lack of family formation—plays in this divide. The Brookings Institution, a moderate-to-liberal Washington think tank, has estimated that poverty rates would be 25 percent lower if marriage rates were the same today as they were in 1970! Sadly, they’re not. In 1970, 84 percent of all U.S.-born 30-to-44-year olds were married. Today the percentage is below 60 percent. According to Bowling Green State University, “Since 1970, the marriage rate has declined by almost 60 percent.”
What’s even worse is that the decline of marriage has been most pronounced amongst the most vulnerable segments of the population: the less-affluent and least-well-educated. This vulnerability was the subject of a recent article at the Atlantic Monthly’s website. The title of the article says it all: “Wealthy Women Can Afford to Reject Marriage, But Poor Women Can’t.” As the author, Emma Green, wrote, “For a poor woman, deciding whether to get married or not will be a big part of shaping her economic future.” Indeed, especially if children are involved.
As National Marriage Week USA Executive Director, my friend Sheila Weber wrote for Fox News, there is a “2 percent chance of poverty if you finish high school, work full time, and postpone marriage and childbearing until age 21. If you don’t do these three things, there is a 77 percent chance of poverty.”
Thus, while for more affluent women, “deciding whether to get married is a choice about independence, [and] lifestyle,” for poorer women, it’s a choice that goes a long way toward their and their children’s future.
To be clear, marriage isn’t a “silver bullet.” It’s not a cure-all for poverty. But it’s an important weapon in our battle against poverty and even inequality: as a 2012 Heritage Foundation study put it, “The U.S. is steadily separating into a two-caste system with marriage and education as the dividing line. In the high-income third of the population, children are raised by married parents with a college education; in the bottom-income third, children are raised by single parents with a high-school diploma or less."
None of this is debatable—the social science data on the link between marriage and poverty is overwhelming. It’s just inconvenient for those who are wed—pun intended—to a narrative that values independence and freedom. Not coincidentally, these folks also belong to the class that is least affected by the decline of marriage.
As Christians, we're called to love our neighbor and to pray for the welfare of our communities. For the benefit of all, we need to get the truth about marriage out. And that’s why National Marriage Week is so important. [NOTE: Though it will be too late to celebrate this OFFICIAL week with your church, this is important enough that WHENEVER your church decides to implement the ideas presented at the website (see below), the effort is still important. - Stan]
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
RESOURCES:
National Marriage Week USA website - February 7-14, 2014; http://www.nationalmarriageweekusa.org/
'Here’s a secret: Marriage is America’s most effective anti-poverty program" - Sheila Weber | FOX News | February 13, 2013; http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/02/13/why-marriage-is-best-anti-poverty-program/
"Wealthy Women Can Afford to Reject Marriage, but Poor Women Can’t" - Emma Green | The Atlantic | January 15, 2014; http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/wealthy-women-can-afford-to-reject-marriage-but-poor-women-cant/283097/
"Women, Men, and the New Economics of Marriage" - Richard Fry and D’Vera Cohn | Pew Research Social and Demographic Trends | January 19, 2010; http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/01/19/women-men-and-the-new-economics-of-marriage/
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