Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sex, Marriage, & Fairytales || Spoken Word
Ephesians 5 (New International Version)
1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient.7Therefore do not be partners with them.8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)10and find out what pleases the Lord.11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible,14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."15Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise,16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives and Husbands
5:22-6:9pp -- Col 3:18-4:1
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church--30for we are members of his body.31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."32This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church.33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.Psalm 147 (with text - press on more info.)
Psalm 147 (New International Version)
Psalm 147
1 Praise the LORD. [a] How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.
6 The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.
8 He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.
10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man;
11 the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
12 Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion,
13 for he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you.
14 He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
15 He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
16 He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast?
18 He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
19 He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel.
20 He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. Praise the LORD.
Monday, January 30, 2012
54,559,615 Abortions Since Roe vs. Wade Decision in 1973
by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 1/23/12 6:37 PM
A new estimate published by the National Right to Life Committee indicates there have been an estimated 54,559,615 abortions since the Supreme Court handed down its 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision allowing virtually unlimited abortions.
Although the March for Life took place today, yesterday was the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions — companion cases from Texas and Georgia that struck down pro-life laws protecting unborn children across the country.
In a new document, “Abortion Statistics: United States Data and Trends,” NRLC education director Dr. Randall K. O’Bannon estimates that there have been 54,559,615 abortions since 1973 based on data from both the Centers for Disease Control and the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, a former Planned Parenthood research arm. Guttmacher receives numbers directly from abortion centers themselves and is the prime source for more current figures because the Centers for Disease Control has never tabulated accurate numbers of abortions. The CDC relies on figures from state health departments, some of which rely on voluntary reporting — and it hasn’t had data from some states such as California and New Hampshire for more than a decade.
“Because of these different methods of data collection, GI has consistently obtained higher counts than the CDC. CDC researchers have admitted it probably undercounts the total number of abortions because reporting laws vary from state to state and some abortionists probably do not report or under-report the abortions they perform,” O’Bannon says.
The number means there are more than 3,300 abortions daily and 137 abortions per hour every hour in the United States. Translated another way, an abortion is done about every 30 seconds in the United States.
The analysis also found that the best estimate for the current number of annual abortions in the United States — involving both the surgical abortion procedure as well as the dangerous abortion drug RU 486 — is 1.2 million.
The NRLC analysis shows abortion numbers rising in the 1970s and, in the 1980s, abortion eventually mainstreamed itself to the point that about 1.55 million abortions were done annually until the early 1990s. At that point, as crisis pregnancy centers began turning the corner with the use of ultrasounds, pro-life state legislation began to take hold and the Internet allowed the pro-life perspective to flourish, abortions began to decline. The partial-birth abortion ban and the use of 3_D and 4_D ultrasounds is also credited.
“After reaching a high of over 1.6 million in 1990, the number of abortions annually performed in the U.S. has dropped back to levels not seen since the late 1970s,” NRLC says.
The Guttmacher Institutes most recent abortion figures, from 2005, confirm the downward trend from a high of 1.6 million abortions in 1990 to 1.2 million that year. Without any hard figures in the last few years, NRLC estimates the number of abortions from 2006 to today at the same rate of 1.2 million that GI reported.
To calculate the overall number of abortions, NRLC includes the hard figures from 1973-2005, the estimates for the last few years and also includes the Guttmacher Institute’s admission that its own figures are likely about three percent lower than the actual totals because of potential errors in reporting.
“Abortion has taken a terrible toll on America. We’ve now lost more than 54 million of our sons, daughters, friends, and neighbors and we are a much poorer nation for it,” O’Bannon said.
“Over the past twenty years, however, we have seen that pro-life efforts can make a difference, as the number of abortions performed in the U.S. has declined from 1.6 million to 1.2 million a year. We’ve still a long way to go, obviously, but we see that pro-life legislation, education, and outreach can save and has saved hundreds of thousands of lives,” O’Bannon added. “Our task is great, but our cause is just.”
As abortions have declined, the number of surgical abortion centers has declined as well. According to Operation Rescue, in 1991, there were over 2,176 surgical abortion clinics in America. Today there are 663. Nearly 70% of all surgical abortion clinics have closed in that time.
Jan 30: Asia, Hot Spots of Asia
Asia
World
See Prayer Information
Geography
Area: 31,829,200 sq kmApproximately 23.5% of the world’s surface area. Russia east of the Ural Mountains is geographically part of Asia, but here all of the Russian Federation is included with Europe. Included here are the Trans-Caucasus states (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) as well as the West Asian/Middle Eastern countries. Includes amazing geographic and ecological diversity – tropical rain forest, desert, alluvial plains, hills and the world’s highest
Population: 4,166,741,314 Annual Growth: 1.10%
Urbanites: 43%
Peoples
Peoples: 4,860 (0% unreached)Languages: 2,322
Religion
Largest Religion: Muslim| Religion | Pop % | Ann Gr | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christians | 368,075,984 | 8.83 | 0.0 |
| Evangelicals | 146,854,085 | 3.5 | 3.0 |
| Muslim | 1,100,825,428 | 26.42 |
Answer to Prayer
The emergence of a mature, international missionary involvement. The growth of commitment and involvement in cross-cultural outreach in India is praiseworthy. South Korea, the Philippines and the Chinese diaspora are major components of the world’s missionary outreach. The Back to Jerusalem vision in China and the vision to mobilize the Filipino emigrant workforce could be the two most significant dynamics for world mission in the 21st Century. Yet humility, cultural sensitivity and genuine willingness to work together across denominations, nationalities and ethnicities are all needed for Asian mission work as much as for anywhere else.For an additional 8 Answers to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
More Information
The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Asia.Hot Spots of Asia
Asia
See Prayer Information
Challenge for Prayer
Unrest in Southeast Asia is due to a combination of political and religious factors. The fault line in Thailand’s political impasse seems unbridgeable and may point to more intense civil strife – or even war – in the future; Muslim unrest in the south of the country adds to the pressure. While Indonesia has stabilized somewhat, threats remain to its integrity even as rumblings of deeper discontent in Malaysia can be heard. This arises from the complex interplay of weak democratic government, vested interests, rising Islamic extremism and ethnic resentments.For an additional 8 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
More Information
The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Hot Spots of Asia.What can I sacrifice for God?
Psalm 51 (The Message)
17I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don't for a moment escape God's notice.
Psalm 146 (with text - press on more info.)
Psalm 146 (New International Version)
Psalm 146
1 Praise the LORD. [a] Praise the LORD, O my soul.
2 I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,
8 the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Jan 29: Asia, The Unfinished Task in Asia
Asia
World
See Prayer Information
Geography
Area: 31,829,200 sq kmApproximately 23.5% of the world’s surface area. Russia east of the Ural Mountains is geographically part of Asia, but here all of the Russian Federation is included with Europe. Included here are the Trans-Caucasus states (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) as well as the West Asian/Middle Eastern countries. Includes amazing geographic and ecological diversity – tropical rain forest, desert, alluvial plains, hills and the world’s highest
Population: 4,166,741,314 Annual Growth: 1.10%
Urbanites: 43%
Peoples
Peoples: 4,860 (0% unreached)Languages: 2,322
Religion
Largest Religion: Muslim| Religion | Pop % | Ann Gr | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christians | 368,075,984 | 8.83 | 0.0 |
| Evangelicals | 146,854,085 | 3.5 | 3.0 |
| Muslim | 1,100,825,428 | 26.42 |
Answer to Prayer
The indigenization of Christian ministry and leadership in Asia. The recent growth of the Church has largely been through the work of national workers, local evangelists and ordinary believers. These churches are, more than ever, Asian in structure, style and leadership – taking forms relevant for those they are trying to reach. Beyond the continent itself, Asian Christian leadership is assuming a much greater role in the global body of Christ. This includes countries such as South Korea, China and India but also places such as Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Indonesia.For an additional 8 Answers to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
More Information
The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Asia.The Unfinished Task in Asia
Asia
See Prayer Information
Challenge for Prayer
The least reached peoples on earth are predominantly Asian. The Joshua Project lists 16,350 ethno-linguistic peoples. Of the 6,648 least reached peoples on this list, 5,150 are in Asia.For an additional 3 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
More Information
The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of The Unfinished Task in Asia.
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