Personal Health Update

OK, I've been out of commission the past few months due to open-heart surgury. I'm now rehabbing and just increased my treadmill work from one half to three quarters of a mile (average speed 2.5 - 3 miles per hour). During this time, I've also enjoyed catching up on my reading. I'm now finally ready to start writing and posting again.

I'd also like to give a very heart-felt thank you to the the great medical teams at the Baylor Heart Hospital in Plano. A special shout-out to Dr Julius Ejiofor and his team who did the surgery. Likewise, a big "thank you" goes out to all the other specialists, doctors, nurses, technicians and others, particularly the resident chaplain that led a group prayer prior to my surgery.

To some, the scar on my chest may look somewhat unattractive, but it serves as a constant reminder that God in not done with me yet.

How Goal-Setting Can Move You Through Grief

Guest Post by Lucille Rosetti from The Bereaver Blog. The views and opinions expressed in the article and associated links are those of the author, and may or may not necessarily reflect those of ad Dei Gloriam Ministries. We have no relationship with any of the organizations linked within the article.

Image Source: Unsplash
Grieving the loss of a loved one or thing brings deep sorrow, and it can seem impossible in some cases. But by drawing close to God and taking practical steps each day to maintain your health, you can grieve healthily and come out stronger than ever.

Whether you're grieving the death of a loved one, the end of a friendship, or a shattered dream, there are no shortcuts through the pain. However, seeking God's presence can strengthen your faith because you rely on something bigger than your crushed spirit. And setting healthy goals can help you heal while boosting your confidence in the process. Here are some some practical tips for navigating grief.

Prioritize Quiet Time

First of all, as critical as it is to spend time with friends and family while grieving, no one can provide you with the comfort, grace, and wisdom that God can. Make sure you are making time to spend in His presence every day.

Devote time to prayer, and don't hold back your feelings or thoughts. Read the Bible at various points in your day for truth and wisdom for your situation. And consider keeping a journal where you write your most honest thoughts and emotions. No one ever has to read what you write, which means you can be raw. And you can also use your journal to set goals and track your progress.

Make Career Moves

Grief has a way of reminding us how short life is. If you are stuck in an overwhelming or unfulfilling job, this could be your chance to make a major change. Why not establish a path for a career you can be passionate about?

One practical step is to return to school for a bachelor's, master's, or doctorate. These days, many online programs allow you to earn a degree while still tending to your full-time job and other responsibilities.

Whether you are interested in business management, IT management, accounting, or any other field, you can earn an online business degree without leaving your house. Besides boosting your career prospects, achieving this goal could be a boon for your mental health.

Eat Whole Foods

It can be challenging to maintain a decent diet when you're grieving. Not only do anxiety and depression have a way of suppressing the appetite, but the physical symptoms of grief can sometimes make it hard to eat. When you have a craving, it might be for empty carbs and other comfort foods.

However, you must feed your body essential minerals and vitamins to function and keep up with grief's emotional and physical demands. Stick to lean proteins, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods that will provide you with much-needed energy and benefit your long-term health.

Build a Fitness Routine

Regular exercise will not eliminate your grief, but it's a critical coping tool that can reduce depression, anxiety, and loneliness symptoms. The health benefits of maintaining a fitness routine are as broad and deep. Exercising can also provide opportunities to interact with others and keep your mind off of your grief for short moments. Fortunately, there are countless physical activities to try, including:

• Walking
• Running
• Weightlifting
• High intensity interval training (HIIT)
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Recreational sports

The key is to find one or more activities that you enjoy and commit to doing them at least five days a week. Your mind, body, and soul will thank you for it.

Listen to More Music

Listening to music can help you battle anxiety, stress, depression, and other common grief symptoms. Immerse yourself in worship music throughout the day. Listen to it on your morning commute, as you relax at home, and while you go through your daily workouts. It will boost your mood and help you keep your mind on heavenly things.

If you are experiencing heavy grief, don't rely on yourself to get through it. And don't depend solely on your friends and family either. Seek God with everything you have, set healthy goals you can attain, and ask God for grace to move your life in the right direction. He will respond because He is faithful!

Thy Kingdom Come

Guest Post by Jim Beatty – a fellow Servant of Jesus Christ

Webmaster Note: Jim received some pushback from others on this article because it was incorrectly perceived that he was writing against all public corporate prayer. Public prayer was common and essential among the Apostles and disciples in the NT church (Acts 1:12-14). Jim believes that corporate prayer is important in the Church and while that involves someone praying publicly, that's not what Jesus was addressing in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus was addressing the boisterous prayers some were making in the public squares only to draw attention to themselves. “Look how righteous I am by praying so loudly for everyone to hear!” Reading the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 through 7 should help the reader understand the intended context of this article.

This might be a good time to review what Jesus taught us when he gave his model prayer at the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus begins by warning us against praying to bring attention to ourselves. He says the hypocrites do that. We’re to pray privately where only God will hear our prayer. Worldly people repeat a lot of vain babbling, but we shouldn’t pray like that. God already knows our needs and those repeated ritual phrases are useless (Matthew 6:5-7).

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:9-13 KJV)

Praying for His Kingdom’s return truly is praying for all the world’s issues to be corrected. All will be made right in that day and his will be done (Revelation 22). We ask for our own forgiveness in the same way we forgive others. “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

Ask him to lead us away from temptation. A picture of this can be seen in the 23rd Psalm, comparing the Lord as a shepherd leading us to the green grass and along the still waters, the guidance of his rod and staff comforting us, not threatening.

And deliver us from evil. Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread after 40 days of fasting. Jesus quoted scripture, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Deuteronomy 8:3). Satan challenged him to test God, but Jesus again quoted scripture, “...thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 6:16).

Satan said he would give Jesus “...all the kingdoms of the world; and the glory of them” if Jesus would just worship him. Jesus once again quoted scripture, “...thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Deuteronomy 6:13, 10:20). Although Satan promised him “all the KINGDOMS and their GLORY”, Jesus closes his prayer by affirming that those aren’t the kingdoms we want anyhow! “For THINE is the KINGDOM and the POWER and the GLORY forever”. It’s God’s kingdom that we want!

Jesus told us to pray “in this manner”, not necessarily these exact words. There are no magic words. I think he meant to pray from the heart, briefly and asking for things that are of God’s will rather than our own will. We’re to ask with faith and confidence (Matthew 7:11). If we pray for the things that are of God’s will, he’ll take care of our needs as well!

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church 2018

Today marks the annual International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP), a day on which churches, Christian groups, and individuals across our nation and the world join together in prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters in the Faith. This year’s observance coincides with breaking news of another deadly attack on Christians in Egpyt, and a critical turning point in a decade-old case in Pakistan.

In Egypt, several Christians were killed and over a dozen injured in the second bus massacre in the past year. Two church buses were returning from a visit to a desert monastery when they were violently attacked by masked gunmen. One bus driver managed to escape with his passengers unharmed, but the second, including family members returning from a baptism, suffered the casualties.

The Islamic State, who frequently targets Egypt’s Coptic Christians, has claimed responsibility for the attack. This was merely the latest in a long string of attacks on the Coptic Christian community, who proclaim to trace their roots back to Mark, the companion of Peter and writer of the second Gospel. Let's please keep this group in our prayers.

The second story is undoubtedly one of the highest profile cases over the past decade. It involves the acquittal of a Christian woman, Asia “Bibi” Noreen, after spending eight years on death row in Pakistan for the false charge of blasphemy. Since her arrest, countless Christians, including ourselves, have been fervently praying for her release. This is a long story so we’ll give the highlights and include links for those interested in learning more details.

Ms Bibi’s ordeal began in 2009, when she brought a bucket of water to some Muslim co-laborers who were harvesting fruit. The women claimed that, since Ms Bibi was a Christian, she had made the cup “unclean” and as a result, they could no longer drink from it. They later beat Ms Bibi at her home, and after she refused to convert to Islam, her co-workers complained to the police. They accused her of “blasphemy” and claimed she even confessed during the beating. This resulted in to her arrest; after which she was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death by hanging.

Pakistan added blasphemy as a separate article to their penal codes in 1986. These blasphemy laws, which carry a recommended sentence of death or life imprisonment, are extremely controversial and almost impossible to defend against, since the law code does not even define what actually constitutes “blasphemy”. Thus, it is often used (or more accurately, abused) in disagreements with, and to target religious minorities.

After Ms Bibi’s conviction, she spent eight years in prison while her appeal hearing was repeatedly delayed, until finally receiving a hearing and being freed this past week (Oct 31, 2018). Yet, this could turn out to be only a temporary victory. The Tehreek-i-Labaik (TLP) party, an Islamic extremist group, immediately organized and launched nationwide protests calling for Ms Bibi’s execution. Due to these protests, her lawyer fled to Europe for his own safety. Even more troubling however, Pakistani officials, in an agreement with the extremists to stop the protests, agreed to ban Ms Bibi from leaving the Pakistan even though several countries have offered her asylum. We must continue to pray for Ms Bibi’s safety since many attempts have already been made on her life, and likely will continue until she is allowed to leave.

For more information, the BBC has a good article on Why Pakistani Christians are Targeted, and Open Doors USA writes about Five Things Christians Need to Know about Asia Bibi and the Church in Pakistan.

I find very few things as inspiring as listening to the stories of Christians that are being or have been imprisoned, persecuted and even martyred for their faith. I rarely hear them request prayers for their own comfort. Instead, they typically ask for grace to forgive their persecutors (Mt 5:43-44, Rom 12:14) and for courage to continue to spread the Word (Ac 4:29), even to those who are oppressing them. In these faithful saints, we’re seeing true first century Christianity displayed before our very eyes. Please pray for all those facing persecution (Heb 13:3).

Update:

As of May 2019, Ms Bibi has been re-united with her family in Canada; however, she must remain cautious since she is still receiving death threats. Please continue to pray for her safety.

Pray for our Persecuted Christian Family 2017

We should be praying daily for those who are imprisoned, persecuted, and are suffering for their faith, but Sunday, November 5th is the annual day set aside as a special International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Below are ten ways that church groups and individuals can pray for persecuted Christians. These prayer requests and photos are courtesy of The Voice of the Martyrs.

The Voice of the Martyrs is a dedicated ministry providing spiritual, economic, educational and other support to persecuted Christians and their families worldwide. VOM celebrated their 50th anniversary last month. Their founder, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, was imprisoned for 14 years in Communist Romania for his faith in Christ, and his wife, Sabina, was imprisoned for three years. In 1965 they were ransomed out of Romania, and shortly thereafter established the global network of missions of which VOM is a part.

We believe VOM to be one of the most important Christian ministries in existence today. We urge all our readers who are not already supporting this vital ministry to please consider doing so. Anyone can visit their website and sign up for their free monthly newsletter that is filled with inspired stories of faithful Christians risking all to serve their Lord and Savior under the most hostile conditions.

10 Ways to Pray for our Persecuted Christian Family

Pray that they will …

1. Clearly Sense God’s presence

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Dt 31:6)

2. Know the body of Christ is praying for them

I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed all over the world. (Rom 1:8)

3. Experience God’s comfort when persecuted

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (2Th 2:16–17)

4. See God open doors to evangelism

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. (Col. 4:3-4)

5. Boldly share the gospel

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. (Ac 4:29)

6. Forgive and love their persecutors

I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. (Mt 5:44-45)

7. Be granted wisdom in covert ministry work

After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. (Ac 9:23–25)

8. Remain joyful amid suffering

So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. (Acts 5:41 NASB) But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear this name. (1Pe 4:16)

9. Mature in their faith

…to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Eph 4:12-13)

10. Be rooted in God’s Word

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the servant of Goda may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2Tim 3:16–17)

We mentioned above that we should be continue to pray each day for persecuted Christians, not just one day a year. Please visit I Commit to Pray for additional prayer needs and requests.

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. (Heb 13:3)

Spiritual State of the Union 2015

We recently witnessed B Hussein Obama’s State of the Union speech. For those who missed it, we’ll provide a brief paraphrase of what he said (and didn’t say):

The economy is booming and unemployment continues to drop (since we no longer consider those who’ve given up finding work, or who’ve taken part time jobs as unemployed – not to mention the fact that we have a record 92 million not in the workforce). I promise to veto any legislation that would cut Obamacare and thus deprive anyone of insurance coverage (even though Obamacare itself resulted in millions of people losing their insurance coverage with which they were well pleased). The deficit is shrinking (pay no attention to that pesky 18 trillion debt thingy, or the fact that I’ve added more debt than all other presidents combined). Russia and Al Qaeda are no longer a threat and we’ve stopped the (non-Islamic) Islamic State (even though IS has doubled their territory since US airstrikes began). In short, everything is rainbows and unicorns (are you going to believe what you see in the real world, or what I tell you?).

This post however, is not about the make-believe world in BHO’s imagination, but about the spiritual state of our union. As we move into 2015, we could acknowledge the erosion of morality in many areas but for the sake of brevity, we’ll only mention three.

Decreased freedom of religion - Never before in our history has the federal government taken such an active role in attacking the God-given rights of people of faith. Many, including those serving as chaplains in our military, are denied the right to pray in the name of Jesus. In some public organizations, God's name can't even be mentioned, unless it's used as an expression of profanity. Doctors and nurses are being forced to assist in abortions or risk losing their jobs. Religious organizations are being threatened with fines for not providing abortion-inducing drugs to their employees. Barriers that protect children from pornography are being systematically removed, but the children are “protected” from bringing a Bible to school. Parents rights are being stripped away by those who believe instilling them with Christian values is equivalent to child abuse.

Cheapening of Human Life - Approximately 4000 babies continue to be murdered each day while Planned Parenthood receives over 500 million dollars a year in government grants, almost half of its overall revenue. We’re now seeing a renewed push for assisted suicide or “death with dignity” as promoted by the media.

As the population continues to age and with over 62 million potential workers killed by abortionists, the ratio of workers to retirees has shrunk from 34-1 to about 2-1. So, something must be done about these old folks that will be increasing seen as a drain on society. This is where the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) comes in. I detailed this board three years ago in one of our most-read articles called ObamaCare Death Panels Coming in 2014. The IPAB will determine which patients will get (or not get) certain medical treatments based upon their estimate of the patient’s value to society. If the needed treatment is more expensive than the board's estimate of the patient’s worth (never mind the patient’s worth to his or her family or friends), the patient is out of luck. Members of the panel will be appointed by Obama, not elected, and I can pretty much guarantee that it will be comprised of accountants and lawyers instead of doctors since all decisions will be based strictly on monetary issues; although in swing states, whether or not the patient is a regular supporter of the democratic party could also be a determining factor. There is no oversight or appeals, so any IPAB decision is final.

Finally, and most importantly, we come to

Compromise in the Church - A few weeks ago, I heard the story of a church that was going up in flames. The townsfolk were running with their buckets of water in an attempt to extinguish the flames. It seemed like the entire town pitched in, including several known atheists. As they ran toward the church with their water buckets, one of the church deacons couldn't resist yelling at the group, “Wow, I’ve never seen atheists running to church before”. One of the atheists yelled back without breaking stride, “I’ve never seen a church on fire before”.

The lesson in the story is that, when a church is on fire spiritually, outsiders take notice. Now, there are some local churches across the country that are on fire, but for the most part, the Church as a whole has lost much of her influence over society in America. Call it weariness, discouragement, lack of faith, apathy or a host of other factors, but our modern culture has infiltrated and compromised the church rather than the church transforming the culture by boldly proclaiming the truth and fulfilling the great commission to make disciples.

We’re quick to blame the organizer-in-chief currently occupying the Oval Office for much of the nation’s spiritual problems. Granted, the current president and his administration are one of the most anti-biblical and anti-Christian in our history. BHO still refuses to acknowledge any terrorism committed by radical Muslims; yet at the Nation Prayer Breakfast last week, he was quick to assert that the Crusades, Inquisition, Jim Crow laws and slavery were all carried out “in the name of Christ”, failing to mention the minor detail that much of the Crusades were to defend Christian lands against Islamic aggression.

Still, we should not expect anything different from non-Christians. In Scripture, we constantly read of God taking vengeance on godless nations who were practicing similar abominations that are regularly occurring in America today, but when it came to judging His people of Israel, He often began in the sanctuary (Ez 9, 1Pe 4:17). Even so, He has also given us the promise that, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2Chr 7:14). Notice that this verse doesn’t say that “if the politicians”, or “if Hollywood”, or “if the abortionists” will get right with God, but “if my people”. So, God is looking to the Church House rather than the White House for leadership on spiritual issues. The spiritual state of the Church will determine the spiritual state of the union.

As believers, we know that God is sovereign over both humans (Ac 17:25-26) and the nations (Job 12:23, Ps 66:7, Jer 27:1-11, Ezk 29:13-16 and many more). In addition, we have been given a prophetic view of things to come in the Scriptures. We have assurances for our future and know that our Lord’s power and grace is the same yesterday, today and forever. Therefore, the church has no excuse for her impotence. With much prayer for revival, we must awaken and confidently go about doing His work until He returns.

National Day of Prayer 2013

Tomorrow, May 2 marks the 62nd annual National Day of Prayer. This year’s theme is Pray for America and Greg Laurie is the Honorary Chairman. The theme is “In His name the nations will put their hope” from Matthew 12:21.

Pastor Laurie’s national prayer is

Father, we come to You to pray for our nation, the United States of America.

How You have blessed us through the years, Lord! We rightly sing, “America, America, God shed His grace on thee.” Yet we see trouble in our culture today. We see the breakdown of the family, crippling addictions, and random acts of horrific violence.

Lord, we need Your help in America. In recent days, we have done our best to remove Your Word and Your counsel from our courtrooms, classrooms and culture. It seems, as President Lincoln once said, that we have “forgotten God.” But Lord, You have not forgotten us! You can bless and help and revive our country again.

Scripture tells us that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Lord, in Your mercy, we ask that You would exalt our country again. We have had a number of great awakenings in America. We have experienced times of refreshing, and revivals that changed not only the spiritual but also the moral landscape. As the psalmist said, “Will You not revive us again, so that Your people may rejoice in You?” (Psalm 85:6)

That is our prayer for America today, Lord. Send a mighty spiritual awakening that will turn the hearts of men and women, boys and girls back to you. You have told us if we will humble ourselves and pray, and seek Your face and turn from our wicked ways, that You will forgive our sins and heal our land. (2 Chronicles7:14)

Forgive us today, Lord, and heal this troubled land that we love so much.

We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ.

Please pray also for Pastor Laurie who has endured calls from the “tolerant” liberals and even the Obama military to resign as chairman due to his support for biblical defined marriage. Here are a few suggested prayers for our leaders or you may choose to offer your own requests.

• That God’s name will once again be hallowed (revered and kept holy) throughout our land rather than constantly profaned.
• For the return of religious freedom, that Christians would be given the same rights to express our beliefs in all public venues as are currently granted to atheists and humanists.
• That our leaders will respect and obey our Constitution, return to the biblical principles on which we were founded, and reject the current policies that weaken our defenses as a sovereign nation.
• That our leaders realize that they serve by God’s permission and will look to Him for wisdom and guidance.
• That our leaders transform the entitlement mentality and restore the Christian work ethic.
• That our president put aside his personal agenda and do what is best for the country.

The last election has shown that America is well beyond the tipping point of being able to hold our government leaders responsible for the godless path on which they continue to take our nation. With God as our only solution, our nation needs prayer more than ever. It is only through the consistent and fervent prayers of the Christian remnant that God may choose to bless this nation once again. We hope you will join us, not only for today, but each day of the year.

National Day of Prayer 2012

Tomorrow, millions will observe the 61st Anniversary of the National Day of Prayer, participating in thousands of organized events in which citizens will unite in prayer for America and its leadership. This year’s theme is “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Ps 33:12). For more information, including how to find an event in your area, visit the National Day of Prayer website.

This year's Honorary Chairman is Dr David Jeremiah, founder of Turning Point Ministries and senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Cajon (San Diego area), California. Dr Jeremiah has written the event's official prayer:

Heavenly Father, every good gift and perfect gift comes from You. You are a faithful God and Your mercy endures forever. You have promised to bless the nation that trusts in You. Our currency proclaims “In God We Trust,” but in our culture we are far from You. In the words of the prophet Daniel, “We have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.”

We come before You once more, seeking Your forgiveness and mercy. You, O God, are our only hope… Hear our prayer and, for Your honor’s sake, shine Your face upon this nation. Give our leaders the desire to seek Your wisdom and the courage to follow Your guidance… and watch over the men and women of our armed forces as they sacrifice for the cause of freedom.

We give You thanks for all You have done for us, and we earnestly pray that You will help us become, once again, a nation whose God is the Lord.

In the name of Your Son, and our Savior, we pray this prayer. Amen

With the majority of our political leaders either indifferent or outright hostile toward the true creator God and Christianity, our country needs our prayers more than ever. Please join us in praying for our nation; not only tomorrow, but every day of the year.

National Day of Prayer 2011 – A Mighty Fortress is our God

Tomorrow marks the 60th Anniversary of the Nation Day of Prayer, originally signed as a declaration in 1953 by Harry Truman. In 1988, Ronald Reagan signed a declaration designating the first Thursday in May as its annual observance.

Last year a Jimmy Carter appointed federal judge declared the day of prayer unconstitutional, but a recent ruling by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the constitutionality of the law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, based in Chicago, ruled 3-0 that the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and its plaintiffs do not have standing to continue their challenge of the 1952 congressional act that declared an annual National Day of Prayer.

This year, millions will participate in organized events to be held in thousands of public venues where citizens will unite in prayer for America and its leadership. This year’s theme, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” is based on Psalm 91:2, which states, “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For a wealth of information, or to find a National Day of Prayer event in your area, visit the National Day of Prayer website.

The official 2011 National Prayer is by Joni Eareckson Tada, Honorary Chairman.

Almighty God, you are our Mighty Fortress, our refuge and the God in whom we place our trust. As our nation faces great distress and uncertainty, we ask your Holy Spirit to fall afresh upon your people — convict us of sin and inflame within us a passion to pray for our land and its people. Grant the leaders of our country an awareness of their desperate need of wisdom and salvation in You until sin becomes a reproach to all and righteousness exalts this nation.

Protect and defend us against our enemies and may the cause of Christ always prevail in our schools, courts, homes, and churches. Lord God, send a spirit of revival and may it begin in our own hearts.

Remember America, we pray. Remember the foundations on which this country was built. Remember the prayers of our nation’s fathers and mothers, and do not forget us in our time of need.

In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

With all the uncertainty in the world, along with the most anti-Christian administration in history currently in power, our country needs our prayers more than ever. The following is a video released by the Walton County Florida chapter.

Justin Back Safely from Afghanistan

We are overjoyed to relay the news that God has graciously returned our son Justin safely from the war zone in Afghanistan. He had been serving with his US Marine unit since early this year and arrived in Palm Springs, Ca about 3am Thursday morning. My wife Melody and future daughter-in-law Kayla were there to welcome him back. They are currently still visiting since he doesn't have to be back at base until Monday morning.

As only those who have fought in a war zone can fully imagine, Justin is having some minor difficulties adjusting but is certainly glad to be back in the states. Even though they were already considered engaged, Justin proposed and gave Kayla the ring at a scenic overlook yesterday. I’ll post pictures of the California trip in the next couple of weeks.

I’d like to personally thank all our readers, personal friends, and friends at work who have continually prayed for Justin while he was away. While all glory goes to God, we are especially grateful to the members of our local church, and particularly our Sunday School class, who spent time in prayer almost daily for Justin. It is popular these days to love Jesus but reject the local traditional church as irrelevant, but it’s times like these that “Internet churches”, “Relational churches”, the “Church at Starbucks” or the “Church of the Eighteenth Green” just doesn’t measure up. I have always maintained that our website ministry should always be supplemental to the local church, but never a substitute.

Although Justin is stateside for now, we ask that you continue to remember the troops (and their families) who are still bravely serving in harm’s way. Also, continue to remember the families of those who will not return safely. The first young man killed in Justin’s unit left a pregnant wife and a child he’ll never see. While we are rejoicing at Justin's safe return, there are others who are hurting, and we should mourn with them.

After his many close calls, Justin told us that he knew God was watching over him, and that he could feel the prayers of the folks back home. Therefore, to all the prayer warriors, we are forever in your debt. I think of all of you (and many who are unknown to us) every time I hear the Allen Asbury song:

Pressing over me like a big blue sky
I know someone has me on their heart tonight
That's why I know it's gonna be alright
'Cause somebody's praying me through
Somebody's praying me through

It may be my Mother, it might be my Dad
Or an old friend I've forgot I had
But whoever it is I'm so glad that
Somebody's praying me through
Somebody's praying me through

Through the tears, through the rain
Through the sorrow, through the pain
It keeps bringing me through
Over and over again

So when you're drowning in a sea of hurt
And it feels like life couldn't get any worse
There's a blessing waiting to push back the curse
'Cause somebody's praying you through
Somebody's praying you through

Someone got down on their knees and prayed for me
Somebody's, somebody's praying you through

Thanks again and God Bless our Troops!

40 Days for Life 2010

During this crucial time of Prayer for America, we should not forget about those who are them most helpless among us, the pre-born babies. We therefore urge our readers to get involved with the current 40 Days for Life campaign from September 22 to October 31. During this time, committed volunteers peacefully intercede for these little ones made in the image of God through prayer and fasting, constant vigil and pro-life community outreach.

This is the seventh 40 Days for Life campaign since 2007. During this time, participants witnessed countless blessings from God including:

Over 350,000 individuals and 11,500 church congregations have participated in the campaigns

Documented reports that 2,811 lives (plus many more un-reported) that have been spared from abortion

35 abortion workers have quit their jobs and walked away from the abortion industry, and Six abortion facilities completely shut down following local campaigns

More than 850 news stories have been featured in newspapers, magazines, radio shows and TV programs locally, nationally and and overseas

Hundreds of women and men have been spared from the tragic effects of abortion, including a lifetime of regrets; and many people with past abortion experiences have stepped forward to begin post-abortion healing and recovery with a new sense of hope

So far, there are 40 Days for Life campaigns planned in 238 locations in the United States and Canada, plus others in Australia, England, Northern Ireland and Denmark. Please visit the Community List Page to find a location near you. For those who can't participate in the current campaign, please pray for those involved and for those parents facing this crucial decision.

Prayer for America

As I reflect back on the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, I remember how many of our churches were filled to capacity or beyond. I remember having to bring in extra chairs for the aisles and along the side walls, at least for a few weeks before attendance got back to normal.

Now, nine years later, our country faces many challenges. It has long been said that our once great nation would fall from within, and we’re currently seeing much evidence to support this prediction.

So, at this critical time, we must be in extra prayer for our nation. So far, no matter how apostate our nation becomes, God has always been faithful to raise up a remnant of godly men and women. We are happy to report that a few have organized a special time of prayer and would encourage our readers to become involved in one or both of these campaigns.

Michael Youssef of Leading the Way Ministries launched God Save America, a covenant to pray for our nation from July 1 to November 2. Dr Youssef states that “"We are facing forces that are unabashedly declaring their intention to destroy this nation by disregarding the moral and biblical framework of the founders' convictions. Unless we become involved and are vigilant in prayer, we risk the loss of our freedoms." As of this writing, almost 70,000 people have signed up.

Accompanying Video no longer Available

In addition, the National Religious Broadcasters began If My People Pray, forty days of prayer for America beginning September 1 thru October 10. This campaign is being supported by Christian ministries such as Coral Ridge, Love Worth Finding and many others.

If ever our nation needed prayer, it’s now!

Pray for Muslims During Ramadan

I received an email from Pat, the Minister of Missions at Hunters Glen Baptist, alerting us to a new prayer guide called 30 Days of Prayer for Busy Christians on the Go. This one page daily reminder was developed by The Thirty Days of Prayer Network as a daily prayer guide to encourage Christians to pray for Muslims throughout the Islamic month of Ramadan. Pat writes:

As we continue to focus on the essentials of building relationships with our neighbors for the cause of Christ, let me remind you of an important event that is taking place around the world. Millions of Christians are joining together to pray for Muslims during the Islamic month of Ramadan. As we see more and more Muslims on our campus in our ESL classes and in our multi-ethnic churches, we want to reach out to them in the love of Christ. We have multiple mosques in our community teaching Islam to more and more people every week. We must be proactive for the kingdom of God and pray for those in our community and around the world. Please be diligent in praying for the hearts of Muslims to be open to the gospel message during this event, beginning August 11th for 30 days.

May God be glorified and honored through our prayer and outreach during Ramadan and may many Muslims come to know the Lord Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

While we must continue to oppose certain agendas of the radical wings of the Islamic religion, we must above all, pray for all Muslims, not just during Ramadan, but throughout the year. Political solutions will always fall short. The only permanent solution to Radical Islam is the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We encourage our readers to visit the Thirty Days of Prayer Network website for additional information, including articles and ebook downloads on Islam, the Muslim people, witnessing, culture and beliefs, and prayer guides in many other languages.

Christian Meditation

Many Christians stay away from meditation because they usually link the activity with eastern mystic philosophies. The Bible however, actually commands it.

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. (Jsh 1:8 - NIV)

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Php 4:8 – NKJV)

Of course, there are very few similarities between Biblical meditation and eastern mysticism. While the eastern forms stress an emptying of the mind, Christian meditation involves a focused reflection on God’s Word. Perhaps one of the best descriptions of meditation that I’ve encountered comes from JI Packer’s Knowing God.

How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God. We have some idea, perhaps, what prayer is, but what is meditation? Well may we ask, for meditation is a lost art today, and Christian people suffer grievously from their ignorance of the practice.

Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God.

Its purpose is to clear one's mental and spiritual vision of God, and to let his truth make its full and proper impact on one's mind and heart. It is a matter of talking to oneself about God and oneself; it is, indeed, often a matter of arguing with oneself, reasoning oneself out of moods of doubt and unbelief into a clear apprehension of God's power and grace.

So, as we prayerfully practice the discipline of Christian meditation, we will observe a profound difference it can make in our lives.

National Day of Prayer Ruled Unconstitutional

The following is an excerpt from the Washington Times this past week:

A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled on Thursday that the country's National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional because it calls on citizens to take part in religious activity. Senior U.S. District Court Judge Barbara B. Crabb said the statute that created the National Day of Prayer violates the Constitution's prohibition against the government establishment of religion. Judge Crabb, a 1979 appointee of President Carter, wrote in her decision that "some forms of 'ceremonial deism,' such as legislative prayer, do not violate the establishment clause." But she said the National Day of Prayer goes too far.

"It goes beyond mere acknowledgment of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context," she said. "In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience." In her ruling, the judge said she understood that many might disagree with her conclusion and some could view it as a criticism of prayer or those who pray.

"That is unfortunate," she said. "A determination that the government may not endorse a religious message is not a determination that the message itself is harmful, unimportant or undeserving of dissemination. Rather, it is part of the effort 'to carry out the Founders' plan of preserving religious liberty to the fullest extent possibly in a pluralistic society.'"

So, this activist judge says that she’s attempting to preserve religious liberty by banning the National Day of Prayer. Judge Crabbe is either grossly ignorant of the Founders’ original intent for the Constitution, or is deliberately attempting to continue the eradication of God from our society. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, that she’s merely misguided, let’s briefly examine the “separation of church and state” issue, on which these decisions are based.

Read the entire National Day of Prayer article.

Are Checklists Extreme?

A few weeks ago, while in a class on the Holiness of God, we came to the question of how to approach this holy God. I would like to briefly comment on a particular aspect of the dialogue, the portion when our conversation turned to Hebrews 4:16, where we’re encouraged to boldly come before God’s throne. I believe the biggest reservation that many of us have is with the word "boldly". How can a sinner be bold before the face of our holy and majestic God?

We must first interpret this passage in the context of the two previous verses, in which we see that we do not approach the throne based upon our own merit, but that of our High Priest, Jesus the Christ. Thus, "boldly" does not mean recklessly or brazenly, but humbly and with confidence in the work of Christ. Under the old covenant, the people of Israel could not approach God directly. Only the high priest could come into the Holy of Holies, and then only once a year to make an atoning sacrifice to "cover" the sins of the people. Under the new covenant, Jesus, our ultimate High Priest, has atoned for our sins once for all (Heb 9:11-15), the veil has been torn (Mt 27:50-51), and we have free access to God.

Next, according to the Scriptures, even though we have free access to God, there are still some conditions which can obstruct our communication with Him. This brings us to one of the points of this article. During our group discussion, I pointed out that harboring unconfessed sin or disobedience (Jn 15:7), not asking in faith (Mk 11:23), asking with wrong motives (Ja 4:3) or for things contrary to the will of God (Jn 14:13-14, 1Jn 5:14-15), being inconsiderate of your family (1Pe 3:7) or several other conditions can hinder our prayers to God.

Another person then stated that we should avoid the "extreme" of approaching God with "a checklist". Now, we should avoid checklists in the sense of external obedience only, which is what I believe my friend was saying. We must however, not become so guarded against accusations of legalism that we avoid them altogether. When God doesn’t appear to be hearing our prayers, it could be that the timing isn’t right, or that he has something much better in mind for us, however, I see nothing extreme in taking a spiritual inventory (or checklist) in an attempt to determine other possible reasons such as mentioned above. In fact, the Bible not only exhorts us to petition God to examine us (Ps 139:23-24), we are also to examine ourselves (1Co 11:28-32).

In another instance, I just read a quote from a well-known pastor at a national conference a few weeks ago. In a speech on Christians’ need to "repent of religion", he stated that for religious people, Christianity becomes more of a "checklist of duties and behaviors", such as small group involvement, volunteering, taking a mission trip, and reading the Bible. In this case once again, these checklists and religious activities are inherently good. It is a hypocritical superficial focus, along with wrongful attitudes and motivations driving the activities that should be avoided.

Independence Day 2009

For last year's Independence Day, I wrote about one of the liberal media's "Blame America First" articles. This particular article called upon us to offer a prayer for forgiveness of what he perceived to be our greatest sins, such as electing George W Bush as president, retaliating against those who murdered thousands of our citizens at the World Trade Center etc. This year, I'd like to feature an article which also calls for us to seek forgiveness of our sins, but for very different reasons. This excellent article, entitled The Nations 233rd Birthday - A Call for Repentance is written by Jane Chastain, a Southern California-based broadcaster, author and political commentator. She also includes a sample prayer which we encourage everyone to read along with her article.

Unlike the liberal's list of sins, Ms Chastain, a Christian, encourages us to repent of real sins which are in conflict with the will of the true God. Liberals however, tend to define sin as anything in disagreement with the god of political correctness, or a god who is an extension of their own views. In reply to a question of "What do you consider a sin?", then presidential candidate B Hussein Obama replied, "Anything that goes against my true nature". I sometimes wonder if Mr Obama prays to himself, asking himself to forgive himself for not being true to himself.

Read the entire Independence Day 2009 article.