Category Category Archives: Prayer Targets
Prayer Targets: Life, Marriage & More
For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:10
Dear Praying Friends,
In his timeless devotional, New Every Morning, the late Dr. D. James Kennedy stirred our spirits and challenged our souls with Biblical truth. He warned that we trifle with God’s Word at our own peril. His April 13th entry, The Bible and Economics, is a message America and our leaders seem to have forgotten.
… Before sin ever touched this earth, God commanded Adam to tend the garden. God created us to have meaningful employment and to earn our keep. And He created a context in which we could live and prosper…
While the Bible isn’t an economics textbook, it does say a great deal about how we can thrive. The Bible says that if a person does not work, that person shall not eat (of course, this principle doesn’t refer to a person unable to work). The Eighth Commandment, “Thou shalt not steal,” makes it clear that we can own property, ruling out certain economic systems such as communism. In fact, I believe free enterprise is a biblical principle. Most people didn’t understand this until 1776, when Adam Smith wrote his famous book on economics, The Wealth of Nations. This book sparked the worldwide spread of capitalism. Before that time, most people lived a hand-to-mouth existence, spending about ninety percent of their income on food. But between 1800 and 1850, wages quadrupled as people pursued scriptural economic principles, and from 1850 to 1900, wages quadrupled again. This was especially true in America , where free enterprise had its freest reign.
But in this century, we’ve turned from some of those biblical principles. A misapplication of the concepts of justice and charity have created in our nation “social justice” (in other words, welfare). Public welfare is neither just nor charitable, because it forcibly takes money from one person and gives it to another. Public welfare also tempts people to take advantage of public money and to fight for as much of it as they can get. It destroys private charity and creates vice and laziness.
Dr. Kennedy promised readers they will experience God’s blessing if they honor His economic principles, develop a responsible work ethic, and work for God’s honor and glory in whatever they do. He closed by quoting Alexis De Tocqueville: “America will last until the populace discovers it can vote for itself largess [gifts or handouts] out of the public treasury” [attributed also to Alexander Tytler and others].
U.S. Running Out of Time & Money — On Monday, the U.S. Government reached its statutory debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the government can avoid defaulting on payment of our interest owed to creditors until August but insists more borrowing is the only way we can avoid default. House Republicans are willing to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for specific spending cuts. However, Democrats want to continue the spending spree by raising taxes on the rich. Yet experts say higher taxes for families with incomes of $100,000 dollars will be required if significant spending cuts are not instituted.
FRC is urging members to end this irrational, immoral cycle of overspending and borrowing and to defund ObamaCare (which will otherwise add $2,500,000,000,000 to the deficit). The alternative is exploding deficits, tax increases on all productive American workers, a greater threat to short and long term economic stability, a mortgage on our grandchildren’s futures and undermined national security. A new FRC website which recommends specific spending cuts, will help you pray over this profound moral emergency. Families, churches, charities and the worldwide gospel outreach are all harmed by overspending, overtaxing big government ($250,000 Question).
- May God give Congress and the President courage to cut spending to solve our debt and deficit crises (Ps 119:126; 144:1-8; Pr 18:9; Josh 1:7; Lk 16:1 ff; 1 Cor 4:2).
ENDA in Washington & Tennessee — On Monday, Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, announced he would support Pr esident Obama issuing an executive order requiring the U.S. government to contract only with companies that ban job discrimination against homosexual, bisexual and transgendered workers. Harkin advocates the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), but it lacks sufficient Senate support for passage.
Last Thursday, the Tennessee Senate passed the Equal Access to Intrastate Commerce Bill (SB 632/HB 600), 21-8, in response to the Nashville Metro Council’s passage of an ordinance requiring businesses that contract with the city be LGBT friendly. The bill, prompted by the Family Action Council of Tennessee, is the first of its kind in the nation. It protects all Tennessee businesses and repeals Nashville’s ordinance as it pertains to businesses outside the city. A Senate Amendment instructing the courts that should any part of the law be ruled invalid, the remainder will remain in effect, must be approved by the House, expected this week (see TN Text, Harkin/Obama, Fight ENDA).
- May Tennessee enact this bill to prevent ENDA-like ordinances! May Congress do so likewise, if the President dares to circumvent Congress by issuing an ENDA-like Executive Order! (Dt 8:11-20; Is 5:20-21, 23; Rom 1:24-32; Jude 7)
States Advancing Pro-Family Agenda — Last November Republicans picked up 680 seats in state legislatures, the largest pickup for any political party in at least the 20th and 21st centuries. Many are strong pro-family leaders. Tom McClusky, FRCAction Senior VP, has expanded his overview of recently-passed legislation. While the liberal White House and Senate are resisting the advance of pro-life, pro-family legislation, the states are moving forward speedily. Please visit the link and pray over the states (see States Show It Is NOT Just the Economy, Stupid, The Cloakroom Blog).
- May God continue to embolden legislators, governors, pastors and people to do right and to be a counterweight to Washington, D.C. (Ex 18:21; Dt 1:15-17; 2 Chr 26:14-21; Pr 28:1; Acts 4:29-30; 2 Cor 10:2-6).
Correction: Last week I requested prayer for Chick-fil-A, which is experiencing undeserved persecution on some college campuses. Not all of the mentioned schools are guilty. My unfortunate partial quote read “more than 20 schools are agitating against Chick-fil-A.” It should have read “organizations at more than 20 schools.” This is a significant difference. My apologies! Fortunately, I did provide a link to the full story.
Finally, Please keep FRC’s annual Watchmen on the Wall Pastors Briefing in your prayers (May 25-27). Please also help us get the word out to others about Call2Fall, Sunday, July 3, 2011. Join us on Facebook and Twitter! Thank you for praying!
Prayer Targets: DADT; Chick-fil-A and More…
Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them… Exodus 18:21
Dear Praying Friends,
There are 18 months until November 6th, Election Day, 2012. The Presidential election campaigns are underway. President Obama will likely be the unchallenged Democratic candidate. Republican frontrunners will eventually emerge. What should Christians look for in a President or candidate for other public office?
Noah Webster, the “Father of American Education,” and other learned men in the founding era pointed to the Bible, and specifically to Exodus 18:21, as their guide (see Noah Webster, Letters to a Young Gentleman Commencing His Education, 1823, p.p. 18-19).
The Bible’s simple list of qualifications for electing and confirming representative leaders is unrivaled:
1. Capable – Leaders with sufficient skills, experience and judgment to do the job;
2. Fear God – Individuals who know and reverence Him and fear the consequences of ignoring or disobeying His revealed will or eternal moral laws. Those who ignore God and His law are not qualified for public service.
3. Truthful – People who love truth – moral, spiritual, historical and scientific; are devoted to honesty, and demand integrity from their friends, associates and staffs.
4. Hate covetousness – Citizens who respect and demand respect for private property rights by individuals and government (contrast with God’s warning of what to expect from an unelected king – 1 Sam 8:6-22).
Like Webster, we must heed and recommend this formula to our fellow citizens. Our prayers are needed now!
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) – Recently, the President announced that the Justice Department will no longer enforce or defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). On April 13th, the U.S. Navy directed Navy Chaplains to provide for same sex marriages on military installations in states where such “marriages” are legal and to allow Chaplains to perform such ceremonies. This is a violation of DOMA, which requires that for federal purposes “marriage is the legal union of a man and woman.”
On Friday, 62 House members sent a joint letter to the Secretary of the Navy requesting an explanation. Responding to a formal inquiry from Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), the Navy defended their position and added that chaplains who refuse to marry homosexuals must find someone who will. This morning the Navy abruptly reversed its plan, presumably awaiting final certification of the military’s readiness to implement the new law.
Today, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) planned to offer an amendment to require “all” members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to agree before final certification for DADT repeal. Other possible amendments include measures to reinforce the traditional definition of marriage in the military and protections for servicemen who conscientiously oppose homosexuality. FRC has asked constituents to contact members of the Armed Services Committee. Lt. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, the highest ranking active duty Army officer to openly criticize plans to overturn DADT, retired May 1, after 35 years of service. In a remarkably candid interview, Mixon said repeal of DADT will cause problems with morale and make the military less ready and able to fight (see Rep. Todd Akin, Letter to Chaplains, 62 House members, Mixon).
- Please pray that DADT will be restored, and that until then, measures will be put in place to protect the religious conscience and physical safety of our men and women in uniform (Acts 24:16; 1 Cor 6:9-11; 1 Tim 1:5-19; 3:9; 4:12; Heb 10:22; 1 Pet 2:19; 3:16-17).
March to Overturn ObamaCare Continues – Yesterday, Liberty University and the Commonwealth of Virginia, argued separate cases against ObamaCare before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. Both called the individual mandate, requiring everyone to purchase health insurance, unconstitutional. After “intense rounds of questioning,” reporters predicted the three Democrat appointed judges would likely rule against the plaintiffs. If so, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told reporters, Virginia will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Florida Federal District Judge Roger Vinson ruled earlier against the individual mandate in a suit brought jointly by 26 states. An amicus brief by FRC attorney Ken Klukowski persuaded Vinson to declare the entire law void for lack of a severability clause. The ruling is on hold pending appeal.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that a similar plan enacted by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in his state, “grows more ominous by the month.” A new survey reveals that fewer than half of primary care physicians are now willing to take new patients, down from 70% before RomneyCare; the average wait for routine checkups is 48 days, and the wait to see a specialist is dramatically longer than a year ago. Massachusetts now faces physician shortages and health insurance premiums are among the nation’s highest (Virginia Cases, Massachusetts, Klukowski).
- May God grant favor to the attorneys arguing to stop ObamaCare and guidance to the judges. May he help FRC attorney, Ken Klukowski, as he works to support these cases, and may the American people win a massive victory for freedom! (2 Sam 23:12; Ps 5:11-12; Pr 2:11; 3:3-6. 1 Cor 1:24-25; Gal 5:1; Eph 6:10 ff)
Chick-fil-A – FRC President Tony Perkins has long warned that the Homosexual Agenda and Religious Liberty cannot coexist. Now homosexual activists are proving his axiom by their persecution of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain. Students at Indiana University, South Bend, have officially complained that their chancellor is violating the school’s anti-discrimination policy by allowing sales of Chick-fil-A sandwiches on campus. The much beloved Cathy family, owners of Chick-fil-A, are widely known for their Christian faith, their Sunday store closing to honor the Sabbath, and their generous support for evangelism and other Christian causes. They are being targeted for donating to groups that support traditional marriage. Dan Cathy was recently disinvited from speaking to the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, whose spokesman said they had “no idea [he] held such controversial views.” World magazine reports that 20 colleges are “agitating” against Chick-fil-A, including: Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Duke, North Carolina State, Florida Gulf Coast, and others (Indiana University, Many Schools).
- May Chick-fil-A gain far more goodwill than it loses as a result of these organized efforts. May the indecent treatment of such decent, respectable business people be an eye-opener for Americans. May these and future such efforts backfire (Pr 16:7; 22:1; 25:8, 11; Mt 5:11, 44-45; Jn 15:20; Acts 10:1-4; 2 Tim 4:16).
Finally, H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act passed the House, 251-175. See Tom McClusky’s wrap-up on H.R. 3 and the states. Our efforts, despite resistance in Washington, are paying off big in the states, Thank you for praying!
Prayer Targets: National Day of Prayer
… Then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chr 7:14
Dear Praying Friends,
This Thursday, May 5, is the 60th annual observance of the National Day of Prayer. The theme is “A Mighty Fortress is our God” taken from Psalm 91. The National Day of Prayer (NDP) has become an anchor to a growing prayer revival taking place across our land. If this revival continues to grow and deepen, it could lead to revival in our churches and another Great Awakening in America. May God make it so!
Nearly every President in American history has proclaimed national days of prayer. From the Puritan Fathers in New England to the Continental Congress, Colonial and State Governors, to our Presidents, America’s leaders have called Americans to pray, especially in times of trouble. Preserved in the historical record, these prayer proclamations reveal ours as a “nation under God.”
As a leader in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1774, Thomas Jefferson did not hesitate to call for prayer. In fact, when he heard that King George had closed Boston Harbor to punish the people following the Boston Tea Party, he led the Burgesses to proclaim “a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, devoutly to implore the Divine interposition, for averting the heavy calamity which threatens destruction to our civil rights.” Virginia’s Royal Governor was so angered that he dissolved the House of Burgesses. But the members regrouped and made plans for the Continental Congress. Jefferson was later elected to that Congress, and months later in 1776 drafted the Declaration of Independence.
Can a government-proclaimed day of prayer make a difference? Jefferson wrote of his call for prayer and its impact:
[After the promulgation of the Boston Port-bill in 1774] we [the young leaders in the Virginia House of Burgesses] were under the conviction of the necessity of arousing our people from the lethargy into which they had fallen as to passing events; and thought that the appointment of a day of general fasting and prayer would be most likely to call up and alarm their attention.
No example of such a solemnity had existed since the days of our distresses in the war of 1755, since which a new generation had grown up.
With the help, therefore, of Rushworth, whom we rummaged over for the revolutionary precedents and forms of the Puritans of that day, preserved by him, we cooked up a resolution, somewhat modernizing their phrases, for appointing the 1st day of June on which the Port-bill was to commence, for a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, to implore Heaven to avert from us the evils of civil war, to inspire us with firmness in support of our rights and to turn the hearts of the King and Parliament to moderation and justice.
To give greater emphasis to our proposition, we agreed to wait the next morning on Mr. [Robert Carter] Nicholas, whose grave and religious character was more in unison with the tone of our resolution and to solicit him to move it. We accordingly went to him in the morning. He moved it the same day; the 1st of June was proposed; and it passed without opposition. The Governor dissolved us as usual [i.e., the House of Burgesses].
We returned home, and in our several counties invited the clergy to meet assemblies of the people on the 1st of June, to perform the ceremonies of the day, and to address to them discourses suited to the occasion.
The people met generally with anxiety and alarm in their countenances and the effect of the day through the whole Colony was like a shock of electricity, arousing every man and placing him erect and solidly on his center (from The Jeffersonian Cyclopedia: a Comprehensive Collection of the Views of Thomas Jefferson, pp. 323-324).
Last year, ruling on a lawsuit brought by one of many anti-religion activist groups, a Wisconsin federal judge declared the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional. But, just in time for this year’s event, the Seventh U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the ruling.
President Harry Truman signed the first annual National Day of Prayer into law in 1952. Truman preferred the 4th of July, but the law provided for each President to designate a day of his choosing. In 1988, Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan signed a bill making the first Thursday in May the official National Day of Prayer (see History). Since then every President, including President Obama, have adhered to the law (see 2011).
Mrs. Shirley Dobson (wife of Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family), has served as Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force (NDPTF) since 1991. The Task Force was begun by Vonette Bright (wife of the late Dr. Bill Bright and cofounder of Campus Crusade for Christ) in 1983 as an offshoot of the National Prayer Committee, which she also founded in 1979. Mrs. Bright lobbied Congress to pass the Bill President Reagan signed to establish the NDP on the first Thursday of May each year. Thank God for two women who have pioneered NDP, creating this powerful anchor to the intercessory prayer movement and a huge reminder to pray for our nation every day!
You can find a NDP event in your area by clicking on this link to the National Day of Prayer “find-an-event” page. If there is no event planned near you, it’s not too late to open your church doors or meet at your county courthouse to pray Thursday. Post the event on the NDP website by clicking here. Many people will be searching at the last minute. Visit the NDP website to learn more about every aspect of the National Day of Prayer. FRC & the NDP Task Force teamed up to make a free, Bulletin insert for use by churches. To download a church bulletin insert to use at your Wednesday meeting or prayer group, click here.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 4, in preparation for the National Day of Prayer, a special private NDPTF Men’s Meeting will be Webcast from FRC in Washington from 10:00 AM thru NOON. To get more information and to register to tune in free, click here.
Please join with FRC and NDPTF and churches across America to help make this year’s National Day of Prayer the most God-pleasing and nation-changing day of prayer in American history. Let’s saturate America with prayer on Thursday, May 5.
- May God lead, guide and bless those who lead and those who join in the National Day of Prayer. May the spirit of prayer break out in homes, churches, schools and businesses across America, this day, and every day! (Jer 29:13; Joel 2:28; Mt 18:18-20; Acts 2:17; Eph 4:7-10; 1 Jn 5:14)
- Like the Day of Prayer Proclamation issued by the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1774, may the prayer gatherings this Thursday “arouse our people from the lethargy into which they had fallen as to passing events” and “call up and alarm their attention.” May the effect of the day throughout the nation be like a “shock of electricity, arousing every man and placing him erect and solidly on his center” (2 Chr 7:14; Is 49:8; 55:6-11; 60:1-2; Joel 1:14 ff; 2:12 ff; Eph 5:14-17).
Prayer Targets: Passion Week, National Day of Prayer Ruling, Obama Speech, White House Prayer Breakfast
So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no fault in this Man.” Luke 23:4
Dear Praying Friends,
Christians throughout the world are observing Passion Week, remembering Christ in His trial, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection. These facts are the “crux” of our faith. The American Heritage Dictionary defines “crux” (meaning “cross” in Latin) as “1. The basic, central, or critical point or feature. 2. A puzzling or apparently insoluble problem.”
For some, Christ is all. Others, like Pilate, are puzzled about what to do with Jesus. Still others, like the Jewish religious leaders, make a career of defaming Him, doing all they can to prevent His public influence. Others profess faith, yet their works deny Him. How blessed we are that our Forefathers believed in Him and worked diligently to infuse His values into the foundation of our nation.
Yet today, we must individually and collectively decide who Jesus will be in our society. Our choices will bring blessings or curses. At the Roman judgment seat, Pilate found Jesus blameless, but yielded to political pressure and the mob who cried: “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!” America must never wash our hands of Jesus. Each of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, but nations experience His judgments in the here and now!
The sinless Son of God subjected himself to death for our redemption. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor 5:21).
The Apostle Peter writes of this glorious gospel:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you…
Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ… as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy… ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God (1 Pet 1:3-21).
National Day of Prayer Ruling — Last Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit dismissed a lawsuit (3-0) against the National Day of Prayer, overturning U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb’s ruling it was “unconstitutional.”
An amicus brief submitted by Family Research Council and Liberty Institute argued that the plaintiff, the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), had no legal standing. Lead counsel and FRC Senior Fellow Ken Klukowski, praised the court, adding this “is a reminder of the paramount importance of good judges on the federal bench.” The group may now appeal to the full seven judge panel, but Ken says, the result will be the same! (See Story, Amicus, National Day of Prayer Task Force, Ruling, FFRF).
- Praise God for vindicating the National Day of Prayer! May NDP’s impact this year be greater than ever! May Christians make every day a national day of prayer. May God hear our repentant prayers and intervene to save our nation. May He bless those who have worked tirelessly to promote and defend this important Day: Dr. James and Shirley Dobson, Mrs. Bill (Vonette) Bright, their staffs and thousands of volunteer team members. And may God give us judges who fear Him! (1 Sam 7:5-12; 2 Chr 7:14; Is 62:6; Joel 1:14; 2:15-19; Lk 11:1 ff; 1 Tim 2:1-8; Rev 8:3-5)
President Obama’s Economic Speech – Last Wednesday, the President delivered a speech at George Washington University, billed as his spending and deficit reduction plan, which are the very themes that led to the Republican takeover of the House in November 2010. Instead, the speech was an attack on Republican plans, adjudged by many as a harsh, political salvo that suggests the tone of the President’s re-election campaign. Experts saw few clear promises except that Americans who receive government assistance will continue to do so (43% of Americans), and that the rest will pay for it (57% of Americans). Obama also promised that America’s wealthiest citizens will be taxed. What is the definition of “wealthiest?” Analysts say Obama means individuals earning over $200,000 and couples earning over $250,000 per year — the businesspeople whose investments are needed to grow the economy and create jobs.
Moreover, some saw the President’s speech as an open vision for American socialism and a rallying cry to class warfare. Standard & Poor’s, the 150+ year old investment research firm has downgraded the U.S. credit rating from “stable” to “negative,” warning that the next two years will tell. The Wall Street Journal blamed President Obama’s speech, which signaled little hope for improved cooperation between the White House and Congress. Recent budget negotiations demonstrated that the President and Senate leaders would rather shut down government than defund Planned Parenthood. How government confiscates from those who will work and redistributes to those who wont work, uses our tax dollars for morally reprehensible purposes, and passes on debt to future generations are moral issues (see S&P Rating, Speech Transcript, Video).
- Pray God will intervene to save us from economic self-destruction. May He raise up men who fear Him, love truth and hate covetousness to shape our budget debate! May our nation turn to Him in repentance, so that He can send His blessing again! (Gen 3:16; Ex 18:2; Dt 15:6; 28:all, esp. v. 12; 1 Sam 8:6-22; 1 Ki 12:6-15b; Ps 37:21; Is 3:4; Joel 2:17-19; Lk 16:1 ff, esp. 10-12; Rom 13:8; 1 Cor 4; 2 Th 3:10-12)
White House Easter Prayer Breakfast – Yesterday, President Obama hosted an Easter Prayer Breakfast for 130 clergymen and women in the East Room of the White House. Invited were clergy from Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox traditions, as well as non-traditional groups, among them clergy from homosexual and pro-homosexual denominations, one considered a forerunner in shaping homosexual theology. (CNN Report, WH Transcript).
- Pray that God will give to us leaders with a Christian worldview, people who know and keep God’s eternal laws in public, in private, and in the way they influence public policy (Dt 17:15-20; Ps 1: all; Jas 1:21-25; 1 Jn 2:28-29; 3:7; 2 Tim 3:16-4:5).
Finally, as you and your family meditate upon our faultless Savior this week, and what He has done for us, may His presence grace your home and your place of worship. Please take time to pray for our nation — that our fellow countrymen — high, low, rich and poor, will wholly embrace Jesus, Who is the Hope of our nation!
Prayer Targets: Stewardship, Abortion, Marriage, etc.
Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 1 Cor 4:2
Dear Praying Friends,
Remembered by many as the father of modern creation science, Dr. Henry M. Morris (1918-2006) founded the Institute for Creation Research in Dallas, Texas, and was also a pioneer of the modern Christian home school movement. The Biblical doctrine of Stewardship was a huge part of his world view. As stewards, all of us are accountable to God and one another (Rom 13:8). In a Republic, citizens and elected officials are also stewards, accountable both to God and the people. Electing godly men and women to office and holding them to account is part of our stewardship. Dr. Morris writes:
God’s word reminds us that “every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom 14:12), “for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor 5:10).
These and similar verses apply specifically to Christians and relate to rewards for faithful service, not to salvation. At this judgment, “the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is” (1Cor 3:13). The test of our works is not one of quantity, but quality.
As stewards of Christ we have been entrusted not only with various material possessions, but also with time, talents, and opportunities, as well as all the blessings of His glorious gospel. We are in fact “the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor 4:1).
“Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?” asked the Lord. “Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when He cometh shall find so doing” (Lk 12:42, 43). But He also warned: “If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” (Lk 16:12) (see Faithful Stewards, ICR).
We must examine ourselves as Christians and as American citizens. Have we been faithful to choose qualified leaders to steward our nation’s moral and economic capital? Are we holding them accountable? During the upcoming election campaign cycle, we must be faithful stewards to elect faithful stewards. And our first responsibility as Christians is to pray (1 Tim 2:1 ff).
Abortion & the National Budget –Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (see Mt 6:21). Despite 35 years of restraint by the Hyde Amendment on only certain funding pertaining to abortion, liberal politicians have become obsessed with maintaining all provisions of taxpayer funded abortion. Last Friday’s budget fight brought this into focus.
While the 2011 budget deal did end taxpayer funding for abortion in Washington, D.C., it left Obamacare’s abortion provisions intact, and continued funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business. The Senate will be taking votes on the two issues this week alongside the budget; however the pro-abortion make up of the Senate will make passage difficult.
On Monday, D.C. Mayor, Vincent Gray and six members of his City Council magnified this abortion obsession when they and 33 other Washingtonians went to jail to protest the end of taxpayer funded abortion in the District. Ironically, this is essentially the same council who imposed homosexual “marriage” upon D.C. residents in December, 2009 and then prevented the people from voting on the measure. The District has 13 abortion clinics and one of the highest abortion rates in the nation. Planned Parenthood has two abortion clinics in the city and several more feeder clinics that refer for abortion. Planned Parenthood has been a major recipient of taxpayer funding for abortion.
Shameless lies by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and other abortion advocates in Congress (e.g., “the Republicans want to kill women”), and dishonest ads placed by Planned Parenthood (e.g., “women will die without life saving mammograms” NOTE: Planned Parenthood by its own admission does not perform mammograms) all illustrate this conscience-searing obsession with abortion.. Who ultimately subsidized those dishonest ads? We did… because the money came, in part, from taxpayer funding, which we know, is fungible.
Planned Parenthood, with its over $1 billion budget, receives $363,200,000 — 33 percent of its income — from taxpayers. In 2009, 97.6 percent of “services” to pregnant women ended with an abortion. Only 2.4 percent involved prenatal care or adoption referral. In their last reported year, they performed 332,278 abortions and only 20,000 other services — which included zero mammograms. Abortions produced 37 percent of the group’s profit.
The African American population in Washington, D.C. is in decline and so is the U.S. birthrate, which is now 2.01%, well below the 2.1% replacement rate. This political obsession with abortion is having not just a moral toll. For too many politicians, taxpayer funding of abortion is an obsession worth lying for and vilifying decent men and women, even though some 70% of Americans oppose it. The fight has only just begun. Congress has yet to vote on the 2011 budget deal; the 2012 budget has yet to be debated, including numerous proposals from the GOP and only one budget-busting proposal from the President. Today, the President presented his long term spending plan, calling for taxes on upper income Americans, which is more of his “spreading the wealth around” scheme (see Budget Details, Planned Parenthood, Short Facts, Birth Rate, DC Population Decline, Ryan Plan, Republican Study Committee Plan, Obama Plan).
- Pray that God will stir his people to participate in these budget-abortion battles, which could determine whether America live or dies — both morally and economically. May God activate his people to be faithful citizen stewards. May their positive impact be felt on the front lines. May righteousness prevail in each individual budget battle and the larger spiritual, moral and ideological war for the soul of our nation! (Dt 8:10-20; Jdg 4:14-16; Ps 110:3; 1 Cor 4:2; Eph 6:10-19; Rev 12:11)
Finally, homosexual “marriage” efforts in Maryland and Rhode Island have been defeated, at least for this year. A transgender rights (“bathroom”) bill in Maryland was also defeated. At the same time, Christians in Maine are working to undo a transgender rights law and require bathrooms to be biologically gender specific – Please pray. Amid all these policy battles, the National Day of Prayer will take place May 5th and the Call2Fall on July 3rd. America needs this kind of prayer every day. As always, thank you for praying!
