"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105
Today is the national muslim day of prayer
posted Friday, September 25, 2009 :: 6:02 AM
Last week I posted a call to the Church to prayer from Lou Engle of The Call. In it, he called for the church to fast and pray against the convergence of forces set to turn our nation in a new direction. Part of that convergence, is that today is the national muslim day of prayer for 50,000 muslims to gather in Washington DC, to pray that allah would turn the White House into a muslim house. Would you join me in fasting and prayer today, in interceeding before the throne of grace for our country and our President? Thank you.
This is from Lou Engle of The Call. Join me in fasting and prayer today:
Urgent Call to Prayer: Signs of the Times
Convergence
It is critical that the church in America understands the times and what needs to be done now. The natural things speak of the invisible. Natural happenings on the earth are revealing something that is going on in the spiritual realm. There is a great spiritual conflict with a rising tide of Islamic boldness being manifested. Several happenings are converging this week. First of all, our President has recently proclaimed, honored, encouraged the Muslim holy days of prayer and fasting called Ramadan. He was very silent on the National Day of Prayer but very vocal on the support of Ramadan. Interestingly at the same time a major Christian leader of the Emergent Church called for forty days of fasting and prayer in the same Ramadan period with the goal that the church will better understand our Muslim friends. We are all for understanding but we must have spiritual discernment as to the spiritual dark powers that are being invoked into our nation.
Cause for Concern
At the same time, on the 25th of September, Muslims are calling for a Muslim Day of Prayer in Washington DC ( http://www.islamoncapitolhill.com/ ). They are calling for 50,000 Muslims to gather and pray on the DC Mall. This is the exact word of one of the Sheikhs who is leading this historic gathering, “Muslims should march on the White House. We are going to the White House so that Islam will be victorious, Allah willing, and the White House will become into a Muslim house.” These are not empty words. They speak of a dark spiritual intent and a coming day of great trouble to America.
A Divine Moment
Now one of these events is enough to awaken us to this significant throbbing moment, but when they all converge it becomes a massive spiritual alarm that must be responded to by the praying Church. However, I believe in this moment of divine providence God has raised up on the stage of history a little “Esther” that if we pray and fast for her she could be a major voice to expose the dark under-belly of Islam and radiate a bright hope for a day of salvation for Muslims in America.
Headlines
On Monday, Rifqa Bary, a young 17-year-old woman, will be in the headlines of US news. Four years ago, while living in a very devout and radical Muslim home, Rifqa met Jesus in a powerful way as her savior. She hid her conversion, began praying secretly, and began hiding her bible from her parents. Then, on Facebook, her love for Jesus was exposed to the radical Muslim community in Ohio. Rifqa’s father demanded that she renounce Jesus or he would kill her as is commanded by the Koran. As a radiant believer in Jesus she refused to renounce her Lord and fled to Orlando where she was taken in and cared for by a Christian Church and family. Now, the father is appealing to the courts to bring her back under his custody. Major television networks have already covered her story. How must the Church of America respond in this moment for our sister who is a part of the Body of Christ?
A Major Sign
This convergence, I believe, is urgently summoning us in the midst of the rising tide of Islamic influence in America to recognize that our God is above every god and that if we return to Him with all of our hearts and call upon Him with fasting and prayer then God could use what the enemy meant for evil to bring about a great day of salvation for Muslims in America, of which Rifqa is but a major sign.
Here is The Call
First of all, we cannot be passive as a Church to let these kinds of developments go on without being challenged in the spirit. Our fight is not against Muslims, it is against principalities, powers, and forces of darkness. We are calling the Church of America at the end of Ramadan, from September 21st through 25th, to five days of concerted prayer. On Monday, we must pray that God would grant supernatural wisdom to the courts so that the testimony of Jesus would be proclaimed and that the best situation for Rifqa and her family would take place. We must pray for Rifqa to be bold in proclaiming Jesus that even thousands of Muslims would hear and be awakened to the love of Christ. She has already said that this is not about her but about many Muslims coming to Jesus. We must pray for her lawyers who are being bullied, threatened, and challenged on every side. On Friday, September 25th, the Muslim Day of Prayer, we are calling the Church of America to fast and pray that Muslims would be moved by the Holy Spirit, convicted by the testimony of Christ, and even be visited by Jesus in dreams. We must pray that God would restrain the spiritual powers behind Islam and grant us the great awakening that we desperately need for America.
Let us hear the call to prayer and not miss this moment,
On the topic of fireworks, let's not forget why we are celebrating today. Reread the Declaration of Independence (it's short). Thomas Jefferson and the Continental Congress lay out the reasons why a people not only have the right, but the duty before God, to dissolve one form of government in order to create another, when that government usurps authority not given it by God, and instead of serving the security and liberty of its people, change into the people's tyrannical despot.
Yes, God has imposed boundaries upon governments, and they cannot do whatever they wish. Romans 13 makes it clear that the government bears the sword in order to punish those who do evil, and to secure and reward those who do good. And what is the definition of good and evil? Since the authority to wield the sword comes from God, who as Creator of the universe is the absolute authority over all, it is His definition of good and evil that must be applied, and not man's, which is much different.
His definition is found in Torah, the dictionary for the entire Scriptures. God is immutable; His nature is unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His Word is immutable. It is fixed in the heavens, and even when heaven and earth pass away, His Word will not pass away. Neither have His definitions of good and evil, right and wrong, which are explained in Torah, changed.
So we are much less free today than we were 200 years ago, but where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. We are free to live just as God has called us to live, in love and obedience to Him from the Spirit. We may be opposed by evil men, but greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world! Our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, has overcome the world. Even if our lives are forfeit, our life which is hid in Christ in God, is not forfeit. For the abundant life that is the free gift of God by grace through faith in His Son, can never be taken from us. On the day our temporal shells die, we simply cross the threshold from this world where man, sin, and pain rule to the next where God, our loving Daddy, reigns in mercy and righteousness on His throne.
The Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, dubbed the 'Pedophile Protection Act' because of the wide range of deviant and criminal behaviors which are included in the legislation, has generated over 200,000 letters and faxes of opposition in the Senate. In the mean time, the New York Times just ran an editorial pushing for the passage of this bill. The pressure is on the Senate, and the outcome will be determined by who applies the most pressure: us, or the Times and other leftists. Keep writing and keep faxing!
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 will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chron 7:14
Our land needs healing, that is for sure. I used to wonder how doing this Scripture would help. The people who were likely to pay attention to this Scripture were most likely the ones who were not walking in wicked ways anyway, so what did they have to repent of?
But then God taught me that Abraham's ministry in the earth was as a prophet and an intercessor. God calls Abraham a prophet in Gen 20:7, even though I searched and could find nothing of what we think of as prophetic messages coming from his mouth. And it is obvious God thinks of him as an intercessor, for Abraham interceeded for Sodom and Gomorrah, and also he prayed for the household of the Philistine king at the Lord's command. In other words, a prophet speaks for God to the world, and an intercessor speaks for the world to God. Abraham's ministry was as a mediator!
Now we are Abraham's children and heirs, and his ministry is our ministry. We are called to speak for God to the world - to be witnesses. And we are called to speak for the world to God. So if WE, the people called by God's name, humble ourselves, and confess the sins of our land, and pray and seek God's face on behalf of our land, then God will hear from heaven, and forgive the sin of our land, and heal us.
This is what Daniel did, in Dan chapter 9. He prayed and confessed to the Lord that "we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedness and rebelled;" even though Daniel himself was a righteous man and obeyed the commandments of the Lord all the days of his life.
Then let us also confess our own wicked ways. Any way that we walk, that is man's way instead of the Lord's way as He has given us in the Scriptures, let us repent of. Let us repent of working on Sabbath, and divorcing our spouses, and not diligently seeking the face of the Lord our God day after day. Let us turn from those things and begin to do right.
So today, let us pray and confess the sins of the Christian families, in which 50% of the fathers engage in [p-rn], and 50% of the Christians do not read their Bibles, and 80% of the Christian children attend public school, and the children leave off serving the Lord when they are grown. Let us pray and confess the sins of the Christian church, which has begun to embrace homo[s-x]ual pastors and leaders, and mixes new age messages into the church, and whose mega church pastors and mega ministry evangelists seek after numbers or fame or wealth or influence rather than seeking after the Lord God. Then let us pray and confess the sins of our nation, which are legion.
God is gracious and merciful, forgiving iniquity and sin, and He will turn back to us as we turn back to Him, and He will heal us. :)
The vote on the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 has been delayed in the Senate, because of the onslaught of faxes and calls the Senate received in opposition to this bill. Yippee! But the powers that be are being less than forthcoming about when a new vote on the this bill will happen. It has passed the House. Obama has pledged to sign it. The only way to stop this assault on the First Amendment is to stop it in the Senate. So keep sending your faxes and e-mails, and keep calling!
Here is a recap on the seriousness of this bill from Liberty Counsel:
Our legal staff has concluded that both the House and the Senate versions of the so-called hate crimes legislation would give "actual or perceived" "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" the same federal legal protection as race. Incredibly, as bizarre as it may sound, this bill includes more than 30 deviant sexual behaviors, including pedophilia!
Liberty Counsel is also gathering signatures on a petition which they may have to present at a moment's notice, given that the Senate refuses to schedule this vote. Please, if you are opposed to this bill, let your Senator know, sign the petition, and let your family and friends know about it also.
May 6 Update: World Net Daily is highlighting one ministry's solution to get your voice heard in the Senate. Faith2Action will send electronically signed letters by overnight delivery to all 100 Senators for $10.
... passed the House yesterday. The Senate is voting on the bill today. It is largely a federal attempt to give protected status to homo[s-x]uals, by raising gender identity to the same level as race in non- discrimination law. You know if the Senate passes this bill, the president will sign it. Then our only hope will be to have the Supreme Court declare it unconsitutional, as an abridgment of free speech. Although that would be the right ruling, as it is an abridgment of free speech, I am not setting store by that. Please call your Senators today.
You might be deemed to be, if a dangerous bill before the full House of Representatives is passed. The House is voting TODAY on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 - HR 1913. This bill, if passed, will give special legal protection to pedophiles and makes any crime committed because of a victim's "actual or perceived ... [s-x]ual orientation" subject to greater penalties than the same crime committed against an ordinary American. It also has the potential to make pastors or anyone else who speak according to the Bible, and against the homo[s-x]ual lifestyle, subject to prosecution as incitement to commit hate crimes.
No pastor I know, or Christian for that matter, hates homo[s-x]uals or wishes crimes to be perpetrated against them. God, however, hates the behavior which is an abomination to Him, but He does not hate the individual. (And this act is not the only thing which is an abomination to God. I just read this morning that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, in Prov 20:12. Pastors should preach that message too, as well as against homo[s-x]uality.) Jesus died so that homo[s-x]uals could be forgiven and freed from sin the same as everyone else. And His death and resurrection is the ultimate act of love on God's part toward us.
But this bill is dangerous because instead of just judging the actions of man - the actual crime - it attempts to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart, which only God can do. It departs from 2000 years of Western legal tradition.
We need to call our Congress person and our two Senators this morning, reepectfully request their current position on this bill, and ask them to vote NO. You can find your representative here.
Original post dated 04/22/09:
When I receive an e-mail from numerous different organizations, warning about the same bill before Congress, I can assume it is a real threat that needs our attention. The bill in question is HR 1913, The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. The concern is the language of the bill, which could be used to silence pastors and churches who preach or teach on the biblical prohibition against homo[s-x]uality, prosecuting such speech as "hate crimes" or incitement to commit hate crimes. "Hate crimes" legislation threatens foundational American liberties of free speech or free worship! The House Judiciary Committee is voting on this bill today, so action is needed now! Call or fax the Congress persons!
04/23/09 Update: An outcry of opposition to this bill from the grass roots has caused the House Judiciary Committee to delay its vote to Thursday - that is TODAY! We are having an impact; KEEP CALLING!
In related news, I am sure everyone has heard by now that the Homeland Security Secretary has issued an intelligence report to local law enforcement which labels those opposed to abortion or illegal immigration as "rightwing extremists" and possible terrorists. What she has done is basically taken parts of the platform of the opposition party, the Republican party, and labeled its members and adherants as possible terrorists. Since we must be registered to vote in this country, they automatically have a database of citizens with the little 'R' by their name, along with their address. This is one of the first things tyrants do - they make their POLITICAL opposition criminals. I knew that if "leftwing extremists" gained the majority power again in this country, they would try stuff like this, but it has shocked me at how swiftly all pretense of fairness and tolerance for other viewpoints have departed those with the little 'D' by their name. It is also more evidence that they are determined to eventually jail anyone professing or living by the biblical worldview.
Well, set yourself against the Lord God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, Homeland Security Secretary, if you must, and see how well that turns out for you. I for one wouldn't trade places for the world.
I don't listen to the radio very often, but I caught 20 minutes of Glenn Beck this morning while I was driving. He was talking about some of the ways that the Constitution is being completely disregarded in Washington. The biggest, of course, is the fact that Obama was sworn in without a verified US birth certificate. But then there were things like voting in a new representative for Washington DC a year before the US Census is due to be taken ... because the new DC representative would be a Democrat and add to the Democratic majority in Congress. There were more egregious examples, but I can't remember them all at the moment.
But there are signs that Americans are starting to fight back, not lay down and take all the violations of the Constitution. 3,000 people a day are signing a petition demanding all relevant authorities to verify the president's eligibility to serve as President. The state of Oklahoma this afternoon passed sovereignty legislation asserting their Constitutionally- protected right to reserve to the state any and all powers not specifically delegated to the federal government, and many more states are in the process of doing the same.
Of course, last week the call went out for a new tea party, and the idea has gained legs since. And soldiers are starting to refuse to follow the president's orders, citing their duty to do so in order to uphold their sworn oath to the Constitution, since the president has not been Constitutionally verified as eligible.
My husband and I pray for the president and Congress every day. We are called to show honor to whom honor is due, and to pray for our leaders. So we pray for the blessing of truth to be revealed to their hearts and minds in all that they do, and for the blessing of wisdom and the fear of the Lord to cover their hearts and minds, and for the blessing of godly repentance to be revealed to their hearts and minds in all areas that they need to repent of. With man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. I have hope. :)
So it hurts to watch Washington continue to stab the country when it is down.
I was thinking the other day about when Bush first was sworn in as president. The country was entering a recession at the time, because under Bush I and Clinton, Reagan's sound economic policies were being abandoned. He was saying that we had to pass the tax cuts in order to halt the recession in its tracks. Does anyone else remember that? He was SKEWERED in the press for "talking down the economy." So my question is, where is the righteous outrage this time? What President O is saying about the economy is way worse than anything Bush ever said.
So, the hypocrisy of the press is just staggering. What else did I expect? The press is the pravda of the administration, but they were the pravda of the Democratic party for decades before a Democrat was elected.
I am depressed for my country when I read the news, but I remind myself of the word of the Lord, which is NEVER changed by what man says or does. Aren't you glad?
If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all His commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.
All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. Deuteronomy 28:1-8
We cannot do anything about what Washington is going to shove down our throats. (But call your reps - don't let them get away with this!) But we can as individuals and families, put into practice the ways of God, obey Him in all His commands, and trust Him - He is trustworthy and He will bring His word to pass in our lives.
We are in a recession because the economy stalled when banks went under for giving people loans for houses that were way above their ability to pay back. If I understand that part correctly, that means we got into this mess by 1) coveting more house than was affordable, and 2) debt, debt, and more debt. My grandpa used to pay for every purchase on the front end instead of the back end. It's called saving. He put aside 10% of his income every month into a savings account, and when he had enough in savings for whatever purchase he desired to make, then he made it. It is the biblical way.
We got ourselves into this mess by spending money we did not have - not only us the consumer who bought way too much house, but the bank who sank more money than they could afford to lose into loans. So now we are told the way out of the mess we have gotten ourselves into is --- more spending. We aren't even going to spend money backed by tangible assets: the printing presses are running 24/7 to create 900 billion out of a few thousand dollars worth of paper. Doesn't that seem to anyone else to be more of the same kind of house of cards? Only since the spending is so much more massive, the collapse of the cards will be that much more massive when it collapses, don't you think?
The regular folks are trying to solve this the biblical way - by stopping the spending, getting out of debt, and starting the saving (I can recommend the Crown Financial Bible study to learn what the Bible says about managing money). Sure, it hurts in the short run - but it is the right thing to do to correct the national economy. If our representative government would only heed the voice of "we the people" they might do likewise, i.e., STOP SPENDING! and avert a national catastrophe. But the signs aren't good.
I haven't said anything about the election since Obama was elected. I have been thinking about it, and I didn't want to say anything flippantly. Besides, no lack of commentary existed, LOL. But my pastor in Colorado preached a great sermon about it the weekend after the election. I think it will be an encouragement to you.
"A young resident of Gaza, Ibrahim Abu Jayab, is cold calling American voters to vote for Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, in the final race to the White House on November 4."
Extreme endorsements: Obama Hamas' pick: "Hamas has had an on-again, off-again preference for Obama, first endorsing the candidate in April when Hamas political adviser Ahmed Yousef said the Mideast terrorist group supports Obama's foreign policy positions."
You have to ask yourself, why do Muslims, who hate America so much, want this man for president so badly? Weren't the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip the ones who danced in the streets when 3000 people were killed by terrorists on 9-11?
Supporters of Barack Obama like the idea of a "Fairness Doctrine" that would crack down on talk shows like those of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, and their enthusiasm grows when the idea of taking the radio icons off the air is introduced.
According to a new ATI-News/Zogby poll, Obama backers are at odds even with independents and undecided voters on the issue of clamping down on free speech on the airwaves.
"Barack Obama has shown a stunning lack of tolerance for free speech throughout the course of this campaign," said ATI-News president Brad O'Leary. "His presidency, combined with supermajorities for Democrats in Congress, would almost certainly bring back the so-called 'Fairness Doctrine' and allow the Democrats to snuff out any broadcasters with whom they disagree."
Well, it ought to be destructive in any normal year. The things that would have kept someone from the presidency four years ago seem to have no effect at all this year.
I am so sick of talking about this election ... I just want it all to be over. How many of you heard the audio Drudge linked to recently? Then state senator Barack Obama had given a radio interview to a local station, in which he said one of the greatest failures of the civil rights movement was that the Supreme Court "never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth" and that they weren't able to "break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution."
Break free from the constraints placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution? This is what will happen if every one of us thinks we are above McCain and by refusing to cast our vote for him, we in essence cast our vote for Obama to be the next president of the United States. By disdaining to vote, because we do not have the perfect candidate, we are voting to "break free from the constraints placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution." Is that what we want for our children and grandchildren?
I am turning in my mail ballot tomorrow. If the people of this nation choose an America hater who sat in a church for 20 years and listened approvingly to how horrible our country was, an anti- scriptural Socialist- Marxist to redistribute our wealth, a Muslim- raised immigrant to sympathize with terrorists and negotiate with tyrants and dictators, an anti- life leader who is more left on abortion than any other person in the Senate, then maybe the people of this nation will receive the just consequences of their foolishness. I hope not. But it is the Lord who raises up and puts down - do everything you can, and then trust Him for the outcome. He will always be trustworthy, in good times and bad!
"Pennsylvania Democrat Philip J. Berg, who filed a lawsuit demanding Sen. Barack Obama present proof of his American citizenship, now says that by failing to respond Obama has legally "admitted" to the lawsuit's accusations, including the charge that the Democratic candidate was born in Mombosa, Kenya.
"As WND reported, Berg filed suit in U.S. District Court in August, alleging Obama is not a natural-born citizen and is thus ineligible to serve as president of the United States. Though Obama has posted an image of a Hawaii birth certificate online, Berg demands that the court verify the original document, which the Obama campaign has not provided.
"Now Berg cites Rule 36 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which states that unless the accused party provides written answer or objection to charges within 30 days, the accused legally admits the matter.
"Since Obama has only filed motions to dismiss and has not actually answered the charges in the lawsuit, Berg claims, according to Rule 36, Obama has legally admitted he is not a natural-born citizen."
Well, there is a very simple way to settle all this. All Obama has to do is provide his legal birth certificate. It would be the easiest thing in the world for a natural- born American citizen. What does the fact that he has continued to refuse to do so, tell you? Yeah, that's what it tells me, too.
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I am researching the holy days which were instituted by God as a celebration of the Messiah, instead of celebrating the holy days which were instituted by man to honor nature in place of nature's God.
:: Israel's Feast - Wooten
:: Annals - Ussher
