Pro-Life News Updates (Various Sources)

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest provider and promoter of abortion. In 2019, Planned Parenthood performed 345,672 abortions. Only 4,279 patients were referred to outside agencies for adoptions; therefore, abortions outnumbered adoption referrals by nearly 81 to 1. According to their 2019 annual report, Planned Parenthood received $616,800,000 from taxpayers and made a profit of $110,500,000.

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2,947,655 and Counting

Number of abortions performed worldwide so far this year and counting.

This corresponds to approximately 125,000 abortions per day.

In the USA, where nearly half of pregnancies are unintended and four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion [1] , there are over 3,000 abortions per day. Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies in the USA (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion. [2]

Stats are from https://www.worldometers.info/abortions/

For months I have been adding a section here, FYI: Where Does Joe Biden Stand on Abortion? Unfortunately for America, we now get to see these immoral and unbiblical ideals played (READ Biden Has Promised To Undo These Pro-Life Policies out before us. PRAY for him and the Administration. Matthew 5:44

Lord Jesus, following Your example and command, we pray for our enemies today. We ask first that You would saturate our lives with the Holy Spirit’s power and might. Send Your love flowing through us, and forgive us for holding on to anything that could hinder our prayers. We release any hateful emotions that can quench Your Spirit in our hearts. Then give us wisdom as we seek how to bless, to love, and to pray for this new administration.

We pray for you to bless them and to orchestrate events in their lives that will leave their hearts exposed before you. As You characterized blessing in the Beatitudes, we pray that You would give them a poverty of spirit that recognizes their deep need for You. We pray they will discover Your comfort in times of mourning, and they would be humbled before You—in Your way and Your time. We pray You would show them mercy before it is too late—knowing we were all God’s enemies before You extended mercy to us—and that they would, in turn, be merciful to others.

Lord, we pray that instead of lusting for pure evil, they would hunger and thirst for Your purity and righteousness, become advocates of Your justice and that their warring spirits would be changed into peacemaking. Remove the façade of well-being; tear down the lies that have deceived them; and hedge their ways until they can see no way out but up. We pray You would show them the futility of what they are doing because in opposing God’s kingdom and in their darkness, they are often oblivious about the true reasons for their behavior and resulting consequences. Reveal to them any deep hurts or traumas in their own lives that may be contributing to their destructive actions. Amen. – (Modified From Crosswalk.com)

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States Are Leading the Way

As the nation commemorates the 48^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade (the Supreme Court decision legalizing elective abortion nationwide in 1973), pro-life and pro-family Americans take heart that their voices are still being heard in state capitals across the country. The “wave” election of pro-life Republicans in 2009 inaugurated a new era in pro-life state laws: More pro-life state laws have been enacted in the 11 years since that “wave” first took office in 2010 than in the previous 37 years since Roe.

Read these news stories and more, LifeNews.com

Stand 4 Life

Planned Parenthood Prepares for Payday Under Biden

Kentucky Governor Allows Born-Alive Bill to Take Effect | National Review

Biden and Harris Celebrate Roe without Saying ‘Abortion’ | National Review

Pro-Life Leaders Condemn ‘Devout Catholic’ Biden Over His Vow To ‘Codify’ Roe V. Wade

On the 48th Anniversary of Legal Abortion in America, We Must Use Love to End Abortion | National Review

Pelosi On Religious Americans: ‘Willing To Sell The Whole Democracy Down The River’ Over Abortion

Here’s Which COVID Vaccines Are Produced, Tested Using Aborted Baby Cells, According To A Pro-Life Institute

Annual March For Life Canceled In Person, But It’s Only Partly Due To Coronavirus

Default Settings For Inauguration Flag Donations Sends Money To Planned Parenthood

Massachusetts Legislature Overrides Governor’s Veto, Allowing Minors to Obtain Abortions without Parental Consent | National Review

Biden set to immediately undo Trump administration’s pro-life policies

Biden Press Secretary dodges abortion questions in first press conference

Sunday Sermon Series – No Man Care for my Soul

PSALM 142

Context/Comment

A Prayer when he was in the cave. He was in one of his many lurking places, either Engedi, Adullam, or some other lone cavern wherein he could conceal himself from Saul and his bloodhounds. Caves make good closets for prayer; their gloom and solitude are helpful to the exercise of devotion. Had David prayed as much in his palace as he did in his cave, he might never have fallen into the act which brought such misery upon his later days. SUBJECT. There can be little doubt that this song dates from the days when Saul was sorely persecuting David, and David himself was in soul trouble, probably produced by that weakness of faith which led him to associate with heathen princes. His fortunes were evidently at their lowest, and, what was worse, his repute had fearfully fallen; yet he displayed a true faith in God, to whom he made known his pressing sorrows. The gloom of the cave is over the psalm, and yet as if standing at the mouth of it the prophet poet sees a bright light a little beyond. – C.H. Spurgeon

Our text above this morning could be summarized by these words, Only when no escape, no fortress or refuge remains for us, and it is apparent no one (mankind) cares for our souls, only then do we cry to the LORD.

Maybe it is about time we cry unto the Lord daily, on the tops of the mountains as well as those deep valleys and dark caves?

SERMON

DAVID’S PRAYER IN THE CAVE

NO. 2282, SCRIPTURE: PS. 142
BY C. H. SPURGEON
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON
ON LORD’S-DAY EVENING, MAY 18, 1890

PRAYER

In you, O LORD, do we take refuge; let us never be put to shame; Psalm 31:1(ESV) indeed, let none who wait for you be put to shame. Psalm 25:3(ESV)

For God alone our souls wait in silence; from him comes our salvation: He only is our rock and our salvation! Psalm 62:1-2(ESV) In him is our glory, our might, and our refuge; and our hope is from him. Psalm 62:5-7(ESV)

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Psalm 20:7(ESV) We will trust in your steadfast love, O God, forever and ever, and will wait for your name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly. Psalm 52:8-9(ESV)

We have hoped in your word; Psalm 119:81(ESV) O remember your word to your servants, in which you have made us hope. Psalm 119:49(ESV)

Devotional Thought for Today – 01/22/2021

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

In this portion of scripture, Paul is describing the Man of Lawlessness and the coming “Day of the Lord.”

Our text in the picture above combined makes a clear and convincing argument that God is not sitting on the sidelines while the world is running amuck in chaos. Despite what the naysayers and poorly read theologians think, God and God alone restrains evil.

Today I offer an article/sermon from John Macarthur and Grace to You ministries on the subject. May it bless you greatly.

“Why Does Evil Dominate the World?”

‘Live Together as Brothers — or Perish as Fools’

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‘Live Together as Brothers — or Perish as Fools’

He only flew to Seattle once. It was early November of 1961 — two years before the young civil rights leader would give one of the most famous speeches in history. At just 32, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. hadn’t won his Nobel prize or written his letter from a Birmingham jail, but word of the influential pastor had spread. Out west, thousands of miles away from the powder keg of boycotts and unrest, things may have been calmer, but plenty of people were still hostile to King’s message. They thought it was too radical, too revolutionary. So, they did what the forces of bitter intolerance have perfected today: they canceled him…

Philippians 2:12-18

This morning among my devotionals and bible verse reads was this gem. It got me thinking about all the grumblings or murmurings I have done this past year. Not intentionally mind you but I am sure some of my posts related to my frustration with the current political climate in America came across as grumbling and murmurings.

It is human nature to complain. I do not think it is biblically wrong to complain, I but I strongly believe it is biblically wrong to grumble and murmur, v.14.

In context, Paul here v.12-18 is explaining how we as Christians ought to live. The emphasis is, look at what Christ has done for us, and you are complaining about a little difficulty in life?

Again even applying outside the Spiritual, we can point out the issues of the world without seeming like just another angry complainer. Of course, God through Paul does not leave us on our own, v.15 prove yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish in the midst of a [morally] crooked and [spiritually] perverted generation, among whom you are seen as bright lights [beacons shining out clearly] in the world [of darkness].

In other words, if you are going to open your mouth do so in such a manner that Glorifies God and edifies the body of Christ (the church).

SUNDAY SERMON SERIES – The World, the Flesh, and the Devil

Ephesians 2:1-10

COMMENTS

There is a popular show on TV called The Walking Dead. Although I have never seen an actual episode, the commercial made it clear it is all about the aftermath of an apocalypse and zombies.

While the bible does not specifically refer to the unsaved as “zombies” but when we really think about it that is exactly what we were. Those apart from Christ are walking about the earth with no hope, children of wrath, just waiting for the day of eternal judgment.

SERMON

Today’s sermon comes from Voddie Bauchman, who at the time was Pastoring a church in Houston, TX but now is Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Zambia.

Voddie Baucham: The World, the Flesh, and the Devil

To become a Christian is to be enlisted in a war, one that is fought on three main fronts. In this session, Rev. Voddie Baucham will remind us how the world, the flesh, and the devil work against the kingdom of God. He will explain why battle, struggle, and hardship should not surprise us as Christians.

This message is from our (Ligonier) 2014 National Conference, Overcoming the World: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...

News from the PERSECUTED CHURCH

The Voice of the Martyrs

People raising their hands

As India fights to become a purely Hindu nation, our brothers and sisters in Christ there continue to suffer and die. Your prayers are needed as they continue to stand for Jesus in the land of countless false idols and gods.

Family Blessed By Christmas Care Pack

Next Door to the Enemy

Authorities Try to Force Church from Home

On the Run as Converts to Christianity

Permission to Follow Christ Denied

Get a Free 2021 Prayer Guide

Barnabas Fund

Christian Newsline

News updates on the persecuted Church

The following stories and more can regularly be found updated at: barnabusfund.org/news

At least 13 people killed in suicide bomb attack in Cameroon

Pakistani Christian girl raped by Muslim robbers selflessly saves younger sister from assault

Pressure increases on Indian Christian community as prayer meetings come under police scrutiny

A daily prayer request from Barnabas Prayer is available from the “View Daily Prayer” link below. The prayer is also available on Facebook, Twitter, and as an insert in our free bi-monthly Barnabas Aid magazine.

Today: Wednesday 13 January 2021

An evangelical missionary from Switzerland was murdered in Mali by Islamic militants in September 2020. Beatrice Stöckli (59) had been kidnapped and held captive for over four years by a group called Jammat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM). Three other European hostages and a Malian politician were released by JNIM about a month later, reportedly in exchange for over 100 jihadists who had been captured by the Malian authorities. Beatrice had had an earlier experience of kidnapping in 2012 when she was held for nine days and tortured. On her release, the terrorists warned her not to come back to Mali. Despite this, she decided that she would return to her ministry in Timbuktu. Pray that her many years of work in Mali will bear much fruit in this country where Christians are about 2% of the population.

DAILY PRAYER LINK

Barnabas Prayer January/February 2021

Sunday Sermon Series – You are the Temple

Second Corinthians 6:16

Context

If you have read any of my posts you know my obsession with the context of scripture, so here is the link to the full chapter of our text; 2 Corinthians 6.

Chapter 5 of 2nd Corinthians is all about the Eternal versus the Temporal. It is a great lead in to the message(s) of Chapter 6:

v.1-10 Faithful workers of Gospel Ministry

v.11-18 Urging no fellowship with idolaters and unbelievers.

Our text focus can be taken from v.15-17 where Paul is basically saying;

V.15 – If God can have no concord, that is meaningful fellowship or partnership, with Belial, that is anything with no Godly intent (evil); what gives us the right to associate with persons of that character?

V.16 – I will leave for the sermon but note Paul’s opening phrase, And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? Ask yourself what are my idols; money, booze, material things, work, what is it that keeps you from being as Holy as God intended?

v.17 – Wherefore come out from among them Paul make it plain and simple, whatever you are involved with that entails Spiritual Partnership or Fellowship with unbelievers you need to flee from it immediately. This is not a prohibition against being around unbelievers (as some legalist would have you think). Rather is a prohibition from you sinning and being involved with those who sin.

Commentary by J.C.Philpot on select texts of the Bible

2 Corinthians 6:17

If we are entangled in the love of the world, or fast bound and fettered with worldly anxieties, and the spirit of the world is rife in our bosom, all our profession will be vapid, if not worthless. We may use the language of prayer, but the heart is not in earnest; we may still manage to hold our head high in a profession of the truth, but its power and blessedness are neither known nor felt.

To enjoy any measure of communion with the Lord, whether on the cross or on the throne, we must go forth from a world which is at enmity against him. We must also go forth out of SELF, for to deny it, renounce it, and go forth out of it lies at the very foundation of vital godliness. There must be “a mortifying, through the Spirit, of the deeds of the body;” a being “always delivered unto death for Jesus” sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh;” and unless there is a going forth out of self by this self-crucifixion, there is no walking in hand with Christ, no manifest union, no heavenly communion with him; for there can no more be a partnership between Christ, the soul, and self than there can be a partnership between Christ, the soul, and sin.

One more quick comment then today’s sermon. This applies equally to the church. The church is supposed to be the Body of Christ, the Holy of Holies, a place where folks go and know God is Glorified. Yet more and more today it is becoming hard to see the difference between society and churches. 😥

A good friend Pastor Gary Burd of Mission M25 Ministries posted the other day a devotional on Acts 11, wrote:

we are praying through Acts, noticing how the early church responded, there were no gimmicks, promises, neat advertising to motivate people to give.

I responded:

So sad how modern churches have become SO worldly to attract numbers.

He answered:

Yes, it is driven – too- far – when I was a kid, the numbers meant nothing, translated they were not as evangelistic. Today we are all about the numbers to the point that we water the Gospel down, use gimmicks and promises to some simple prayer, and think we are growing – really sad.

I pray you are a member of a church that preaches and teaches only the Genuine Gospel without compromise.

SERMON

2 Corinthians 6:16 – Christians, Temples of the Living God, by George Whitefield

Daily Devotional – Ezra’s Prayer

5. Confession and Repentance (Ezra 7-10). Rebuild & Renew: The Post-Exilic Books, by Ralph F. Wilson. JesusWalk Bible Study Series. — Gustav Dore, detail from ‘Ezra in Prayer’ (1866), engraving, from La Grande Bible de Tours.

EZRA 9

CONTEXT

There are two books in the Bible dedicated to Israel’s return from Babylonian captivity to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Ezra is the first with Nehemiah by the decree of Artaxerxes, quickly following.

Ezra covers a period of approximately 100 years beginning around 538 B.C. The book’s primary purpose is to record the rebuilding of the Temple but it also includes many birth records apparently to establishing the priesthood lineage of Arron. Ezra can be divided as follows:

Chapters 1-6—Return and Building of the Second Temple.

Chapters 7-10—The Ministry of Ezra.

Today’s devotional is from Chapter 9 and has this as it’s the theme:

Believers today can be encouraged to be as zealous for the upbuilding of the church as Ezra and Nehemiah were for the rebuilding of the temple and wall. – KATHLEEN NIELSON

DEVOTION

From the Gospel Coalition

It may be difficult for some Christians, immersed in the heritage of individualism and influenced by postmodern relativism, to find much sympathy for Ezra and his prayer (Ezra 9). A hundred or so of the returned Israelites, out of a population that by this time would have been at least fifty or sixty thousand, have married pagan women from the surrounding tribes. Ezra treats this as an unmitigated disaster and weeps before the Lord as if really grievous harm has been done. Has religion descended to the level where it tells its adherents whom they may marry? Moreover, the aftermath of this prayer (on which we shall reflect tomorrow) is pretty heartless, isn’t it?

In reality, Ezra’s prayer discloses a man who has thought long and hard about Israel’s history.

First, he understands what brought about the exile, the formal destruction of the nation, the scattering of the people. It was nothing other than the sins of the people—and terribly often these sins had been fostered by links, not least marital links, between the people of the covenant and the surrounding tribes. “Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today” (Ezra 9:7).

Second, he understands that if this community has been permitted to return to Judah, it is because “for a brief moment, the LORD our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage” (Ezra 9:8).

Third, he understands that in the light of the first two points, and in the light of Scripture’s explicit prohibition against intermarriage, what has taken place is not only singular ingratitude but concrete defiance of the God who has come to Israel’s relief not only in the Exodus but also in the exile.

Fourth, he understands the complex, corrosive, corporate nature of sin. Like Isaiah before him (Isa. 6:5), Ezra aligns himself with the people in their sin (Ezra 9:6). He grasps the stubborn fact that these are not individual failures and nothing more; these are means by which raw paganism, and finally the relativizing of Almighty God, are smuggled into the entire community through the back door. How could such marriages, even among some priests, have been arranged unless many, many others had given their approval, or at least winked at the exercise? Above all, Ezra understands that the sins of the people of God are far worse than the punishment they have received (Ezra 9:13–15).

How should these lines of thought shape our thinking about the sins of the people of God today?

APPLICATION / PRAYER

In reading today’s devotional I realized I have not been an Ezra or Nehemiah (one of my favorite OT characters) as of late when it comes to me and my local church. Oh, I have lots of excuses, illness, and such but really how much weight do those excuses hold.

Join me today in praying for the local church, that it may be strong, uninfluenced by worldly affairs, and edifying to all the saints it ministers to.

Lord, let your Spirit be poured out upon your churches from on high, and then the wilderness shall become a fruitful field; Isaiah 32:15(ESV) then justice shall return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. Psalm 94:15(ESV)

Let what remains be put into order, Titus 1:5(ESV), and let every plant that is not of my heavenly Father’s planting be rooted up. Matthew 15:13(ESV)

Let the Lord whom I seek come to his temple like a refiner’s fire and fullers’ soap, and let him purify the sons of Levi and all the seed of Israel, and refine them like gold and silver, that they may bring offerings of righteousness to the LORD, pleasing offerings to the LORD as in the days of old, as in former years. Malachi 3:2-4(ESV)

Let religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, flourish and prevail everywhere: James 1:27(ESV) that kingdom of God among men, which is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17(ESV) O revive this work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; Habakkuk 3:2(ESV) and let these times be times of reformation. Hebrews 9:10(ESV)

News from the PERSECUTED CHURCH

Barnabas Fund

Christian Newsline

News updates on the persecuted Church

The following stories and more can regularly be found updated at: barnabusfund.org/news

Nigerian Christians Murdered as a “Christmas Present” in Terror Attacks on Christmas Eve

Exiles Witness Collusion Between North Korea and China Over Persecution of Christians

Egypt Approves Registration of 62 Churches and Church Buildings

Egyptian Prosecutor Looks to Challenge Acquittal of Muslim Men Charged With Stripping Elderly Christian Woman

PRAYER FOCUS UPDATE DECEMBER 2020

The Voice of the Martyrs

People praying

5 Ways to Pray for Your Persecuted Brothers and Sisters in Christ

With the arrival of the new year, resolve now to pray regularly for persecuted Christians in 2021. Here are five specific ways you can pray:

- - Pray that persecuted believers will be filled with joy and peace that results in overflowing hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
  - Thank God for their faithful testimony as it inspires Christians around the world to boldness and faithfulness. (Romans 1:8–10)
  - Pray that God will comfort believers who are experiencing troubles so the comfort of Christ will overflow into the lives of others. (2 Corinthians 1:3–7)
  - Pray that God will strengthen their hearts, causing their love for one another and for their persecutors to increase and overflow. (1 Thessalonians 3:9–13)
  - Pray that those who are enemies of the gospel and persecutors of God’s people will experience Christ’s love and be reconciled to God. (Romans 5:10)

Get a Free 2021 Prayer Guide

More Prayer Tools

Have you resolved to pray more in 2021? The Voice of the Martyrs offers a variety of resources to help you pray daily for persecuted Christians. Consider these tools that will help you pray specifically for your persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the year:

- - 2021 Global Prayer Guide — Provides background information on hostile areas and restricted nations where VOM is working, along with the current situation for Christians in each country.
  - VOM Global Prayer Journal — Features country information from the 2021 Global Prayer Guide, along with ruled pages on which you can write out prayers or note others’ prayer needs.
  - iCommitToPray.com — Sign up to receive weekly emails with new, updated prayer requests. Also includes a feature that enables you to share your prayers online with other Christians, including your brothers and sisters living in hostile areas and restricted nations!

SIGN THE National Petition to Defund Planned Parenthood

2,947,655 and Counting

Number of abortions performed worldwide so far this year and counting.

States Are Leading the Way

Read these news stories and more, LifeNews.com

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Context/Comment

SERMON

PRAYER

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‘Live Together as Brothers — or Perish as Fools’

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COMMENTS

SERMON

Voddie Baucham: The World, the Flesh, and the Devil

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Christian Newsline

News updates on the persecuted Church

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Context

SERMON

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CONTEXT

DEVOTION

APPLICATION / PRAYER

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Christian Newsline

News updates on the persecuted Church

5 Ways to Pray for Your Persecuted Brothers and Sisters in Christ

More Prayer Tools

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