Good News for the Abedini's

I've been praying for a long time for Pastor Saeed Abedini to be released from prison in Iran, Encouraging news last week - President Obama met with Naghmeh Abedini and her children.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which is working to secure the release of American Pastor Saeed Abedini from an Iranian prison, said today a private face-to-face meeting between President Obama and American Pastor Saeed Abedini's wife, Naghmeh, and their children elevates Pastor Saeed's plight on the world stage and should send a powerful message to the Iranians: It is time to release this U.S. citizen so he can return home to his family.

President Obama met with Naghmeh and her two young children, 6-year-old Jacob and 8-year-old Rebekka, during a stop in the Abedini's hometown of Boise, Idaho.

"I am extremely thankful the President took the time to meet with our family and told us that securing the release of my husband is a top priority," said Naghmeh Abedini. "The President was focused and gracious—showing concern to me and my children. I know that this meeting could not have occurred without prayer, and I am grateful to the many people around the country and world who continue to pray for Saeed's release. The President repeated his desire to do all that he can to bring Saeed home. That means the world to me and my children and has given me a renewed sense of hope."

The private meeting, which lasted about 10 minutes, occurred in an office at Boise State University, just moments before the President addressed an audience about education.

"We're grateful that President Obama took the time to meet with Naghmeh and speak with her and the children," said Jordan Sekulow, Executive Director of the ACLJ, which represents Naghmeh and her two children. "Pastor Saeed has been wrongly imprisoned for nearly 2 1/2 years. He has been separated from his wife and children. The pain experienced by the Abedini family is impossible to imagine. The meeting between President Obama and the Abedini family is a very welcomed development. It demonstrates the president's concern and compassion for this family. It also underscores the mportance of Pastor Saeed's case, a U.S. citizen imprisoned in Iran merely because of his Christian faith. The face-to-face meeting elevates Pastor Saeed's plight on the world stage—and should send a powerful message to the Iranians: It is time to release Pastor Saeed so he can return home to his family."

Regarding the meeting, Naghmeh said President Obama entered the room, greeted the children and immediately told her that securing the release of Pastor Saeed was a top priority for him. He recalled the phone call he had some time ago with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and told Naghmeh that Saeed was part of that conversation. The President reiterated that bringing Saeed home is a top priority for him.

Naghmeh told the president that she prays for him often. The president smiled when Naghmeh told him that she had refrained from food and had fasted for days praying that God would grant this meeting with him—and that the meeting itself was the result of that prayer.

Naghmeh told the president that she knows that he cares about families and that the face-to-face meeting with the president reflected the care and concern he has for the Abedini family.

Naghmeh told the president that her son, Jacob, had something to ask him. Jacob asked: "Mr. President, can you please bring daddy home for my birthday?" The President responded, "When is your birthday?" Jacob told him March 17th, when he will turn 7. The President said he will try very hard to bring his father home.

The meeting between the president and the Abedinis occurred after more than 100,000 people signed on to an ACLJ letter urging President Obama to meet with the family. Pastor Saeed's two young children—Jacob and Rebekka—have recorded a personal plea asking President Obama to bring their father home. That video is available here

Let's all continue to pray for our brother and his famil.

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Irony So Thick....

Next week is the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Next week the annual March for Life will be held in Washington, DC.  This week, it has been one month since the Newtown school shooting. What do these events have in common?  Watch this:





The irony in this video is so thick, you could eat it with a spoon.

Keep marching, until all the children are protected and every human life is treated as sacred.

Giglio Dropped from Inaugural Ceremony

Earlier this week it was announced that Louie Giglio, founder of the Passion Youth Conferences, would be giving the benediction at the Presidential Inaugural later this month. Today, Pastor Giglio has asked to be removed from the program due to controversy being stirred up by Gay Rights activists over Giglio's Biblical stand on homosexuality.

Christians in the USA must face the fact that adherence to Biblical standards on sexual morality will bring opposition and persecution from a culture in rebellion against those standards. Giglio's strong stand against sexual trafficking was not enough to save him from the Gay activists. So sad.

Louie Giglio to Pray at 2013 Inauguration

Two guests have been invited by President Obama and the Presidential Inaugural Committee to pray at the 2013 inauguration. One of them is Louie Giglio, founder and leader of the Passion Conference (i.e. the one held in Atlanta last week). Interesting choice, and interesting reason given for the choice.

Quote below is from The Washington Post:

The benediction will be given by conservative evangelical pastor Louie Giglio, founder of the student-focused Passion Conferences, which draw tens of thousands of people to events around the world.

The contrasting choice of speakers are typical of a president who has walked a sometimes complicated path when it comes to religion — working to be inclusive to the point that critics at times have questioned his faith.

In a statement released by the inaugural committee, the president said the careers of Evers-Williams and Giglio “reflect the ideals that the Vice President and I continue to pursue for all Americans – justice, equality and opportunity.”. . .

An inaugural official said Giglio was picked for the benediction in part because of his work raising awareness about modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Those were core issues at his most recent conference, Passion 2013, attended by more than 60,000 mostly young evangelicals in Atlanta.

“During these days it is essential for our nation to stand together as one,” Giglio said in a statement. “And, as always, it is the right time to humble ourselves before our Maker.”

 Hat Tip: Denny Burk 


Update 1/10/13 - Giglio dropped himself from program because of of controversy over his Biblical stand on homosexuality. Our culture continues to rebel against God!

Doing Nothing

While we're at it, why don't we also give him the Cy Young Award, the Heisman Trophy, the WWE Title and the Miss World Crown - all equally deserved!

Over the past few years this once prestigious international award has been turned into simply a popularity contest among international liberal social elitists. What a shame.

Some Scrappleface Humor - Noble Prize Panel Hopes Peace Prize Boosts President Obama's Self Esteem

Fraud and Waste?

In his speech before Congress last week, President Obama said the following:

"[W]e’ve estimated that most of this plan can be paid for by finding savings within the existing health care system, a system that is currently full of waste and abuse. . . . The only thing this plan would eliminate is the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud . . . . Reducing the waste and inefficiency in Medicare and Medicaid will pay for most of this plan."

I have a couple of questions, Mr. President.

1. If Medicare and Medicaid are filled with that much fraud and waste, why don't you fix that now, fix that first, before starting a new government health care program?

2. If Medicare and Medicaid are filled with that much fraud and waste, why should we believe that your new "public option" would not also be filled with fraud, waste and abuse?

Awaiting answers (as the crickets chirp).

"You Can Keep Your Health Plan" (Until You Change Jobs)

A Fact All Americans need to know:

Under the Democrat-sponsored bill, existing insurance policies are “grandfathered” into the new, overhauled national health care system, meaning that you have the option to keep your health coverage plan and provider even if they don’t conform to the new standards set by the federal government.

However, beginning the year this bill takes effect, individuals who leave their current insurer for any reason – whether it be moving to a different state or changing to a different employer – will be forced to purchase a new government-approved private plan or to enroll in the government-run, taxpayer-funded “public option” for their health coverage, rather than being allowed to choose coverage similar to that which they had before the advent of Obamacare.

From : Health Care Bill Fact of the Day: ‘You Can Keep Your Health Plan,’ But Once You Change it, the Government is Your Only Option - Jeff_Emanuel’s blog - RedState

The Job of Savior is Already Taken

Hat Tip: Take Your Vitamin Z: Potential New Slogan For Our Church Plant

Czar of Czars

According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, the US government now has 31 Czars, more than the entire Romanov Dynasty of Russia had over hundreds of years.

So, what do you call the head of a government composed of 31 Czars? "President of the United States" seems so understated for such a lofty figure. Czar of Czars?

I understand that the title "King of Kings" is already taken.

Hat Tip: - The Corner on National Review Online

World Tour

Ironic Presidential Positions

Over at Prison Fellowship's blog, The Point, Dennis Babish pointed out The Irony of President Obamas Positions on abortion and torture.

Has anyone else noticed the blatant incongruity in President Obama’s positions when it comes to abortion and torture?

He believes it is fine for a woman to abort her unborn child for any reason and at anytime during the pregnancy. Even if the child initially survives an abortion attempt there should be no attempt to save that child and the doctors will not be held accountable. YET, he finds it totally unacceptable to use waterboarding on a terrorist who may know something about a possible attack on Americans, even if the information obtained could prevent that attack from happening and save many lives.

More details can be had by following the link.

Flying Past the Statue

A source (who will remain nameless) passed on to me this Top Secret Photo of the controversial Air Force One flyby of the Statue of Liberty last week. ;)

Paving on the Road to....

From : - Erick’s blog - RedState

A road to financial hell paved with such good intentions! May God have mercy upon my children and future grandchildren!

A Question

Barack Obama has been President of the United States for a week now. Has the world changed yet?

If so, I hadn't noticed.


(But I will keep praying for him).

Praying for the President

From Rev. Ligon Duncan at The First Presbyterian Church of Jackson Mississippi comes this Pastor's Perspective on praying for President Obama:

For those Christians who are more concerned than overjoyed about the prospects of an Obama presidency, there should be a remembrance that as our President, Barack Obama will have God-given authority to govern us, and that we should view him as a servant of God (Rom. 13:1, 4) to whom we should be subject (Rom. 13:1, 5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14). Thus, again, we are to pray for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2). We are to thank God for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2). We are to respect Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7). We are to honor Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17).

For those Christians who are more overjoyed than concerned about the prospects of an Obama presidency, there should be a remembrance of our ultimate allegiance: Jesus is Lord (and thus, He, not we, decides what is right and wrong), we serve God not man, and the Lord himself has promised to establish "the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him" (Malachi 3:18). Thus, where our new president opposes or undermines biblical moral standards in our society, fails to uphold justice for the unborn, undermines religious liberties or condones an ethos that is hostile to the Gospel, we will pray for God's purposes to triumph over our President's plans and policies.

Rick Warren's Inauguration Prayer

From Between Two Worlds here is the text of Rick Warren's Inauguration Prayer

Almighty God, our Father:

Everything we see, and everything we can’t see, exists because of you alone. It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory.

History is your story.

The Scripture tells us, "Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one." And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now today we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge point of history with the inauguration of our first African American president of the United States.

We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where a son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new president, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity.Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans--united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.

When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you--forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone--forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve--forgive us.

And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes—even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all. May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet.

And may we never forget that one day, all nations--and all people--will stand accountable before you.

We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life—Yeshua, Esa, Jesus, Jesus—who taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.

Prayer for Our New President

Today at 12 noon Barack Obama becomes our new president. I did not vote for him, and do not support many of his professed political positions. Be that as it may, today he becomes my president.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

I commit myself to pray for President Obama regularly according to 1 Timothy 2. I will also pray for his family , his vice-president, his cabinet leaders and his advisers.

I will always speak respectfully even if I must criticize him. This is the right thing to do out of respect for the office he holds. It is also right because it is just right. No one should treat President Obama with the same kind of disrespect that President Bush has so often been subjected to.

Let us pray for our new leader. God be with him, protect him, strengthen him, and give him great wisdom.

Dancing with the Politicial Stars

Check out this dancing with the politicians video!

No the picture to the right is not in the video - it was from another source. Some day I 'm going to learn or figure out how to post video on this blog.

(BTW, I think Sarah wins the contest by a landslide!)

Hat Tip: Rick Ianiello

Rick Warren: The Cool Goatee is Not Enough

You've probably heard by now that Rick Warren has agreed to offer the invocation prayer at the inauguration of President Obama in January. You've probably also heard that both sides of the political spectrum are hopping mad. Some on the right have attacked Warren for giving political cover to a pro-choice politician. Some on the left are outraged that a supporter of California's Proposition 8 will be on the podium. To them, anyone who disagrees with them on gay rights, no matter how courteous and civil the expression of that disagreement, is a hatemonger.

Jared Wilson had some wise words on the controversy at The Gospel-Driven Church

Here's the thing: Warren is not saying anything outrageous for a Christian minister. He is simply, as most evangelical Christians do, saying that babies should get to live and that homosexual behavior is sin. That he is getting branded a radical hatemonger for these things should tell us a lot about the culture we live in, which -- PAY ATTENTION HERE -- doesn't care if you're a cool, goatee-sporting, social justice loving, Obama voting Christian. If you simply follow the Bible's counsel about life and sin, you're Hitler.

We will see more and more of this. And hear me on this also: this is not cause to rejoin the culture war and restock the Christian Coalition. It is certainly not cause to give up caring about social justice or whoever's being elected president. But it also not cause to give up living the rightside up culture of the kingdom of God, which turns all worldly niceties on their heads. And inspires people to hate us.

Don't be surprised. Don't rev up the marketing campaigns to renegotiate public approval.When they hate you, when they insult you, when they curse you, it's not because you fell out of God's favor. Being hated was promised by Jesus to those who follow him.Jesus doesn't need new PR. (He doesn't need anything, really.) He wants self-crucifying, dead-to-the-world, cross-taking lovers of Truth.

If the world doesn't think you're stupid, maybe you're doing something wrong?

Dr. Albert Mohler of the Southern Baptist Seminary on why he would not have accepted the invitation to pray at the inauguration.

10 Ways to Pray for the President-Elect

J. Lee Grady at Charisma Magazine wrote the following about 10 Ways to Pray for Barack Obama You do not have to like him or agree with him or have voted for him in order to pray for him. I think I heard somewhere that we were commanded to pray for those in authority.

Regardless of who sits in the Oval Office, the Bible says “the nations are like a drop from a bucket” to God (Is. 40:15, NASB). That includes the United States. We may boast about being “the greatest nation on earth,” but He who sits in heaven has a different perspective. Let’s take a big sigh of relief now and remember that God is sovereign.

I’ll admit this election did not turn out as I had hoped. I supported McCain primarily because I am pro-life and I prefer his small-government mindset. But now that the election is over, I’m not going to harbor bitterness toward Obama supporters or go into attack mode. Obama has been elected president of this country, and that means I have a biblical responsibility to support him in prayer—even if I challenge his policies.

Whether you voted for Obama or not, you need to pray for him. Here are 10 ways I plan to intercede for him regularly:

1. Pray for Obama’s protection...
2. Cover his wife and daughters in prayer...
3. Pray that Obama will govern with God’s wisdom....
4. Ask God to keep our president humble. ...
5. Pray for wise and righteous advisers to surround him....
6. Ask for the spirit of reconciliation....
7. Pray that Obama will adopt pro-life convictions. ...
8. Bind all evil forces assigned to manipulate our president ...
9. Pray that Obama’s door will remain open to the church. ...
10. Pray that our nation will enjoy God’s peace and blessing during the Obama administration....

There is more detail and discussion behind each prayer topic at his original post at Fire in My Bones blog. Let's keep praying.