Do Prayer Rallies Really Do Any Good?

10/4/2012 Jennifer LeClaire – Charisma Magazine

Another day, another prayer rally. That’s the sentiment of the naysayers who don’t believe intercession can turn the direction of a nation.

After all, they say, you’ve got IHOPs all over the world praying—some of them filling up the bowls 24/7. You’ve got TheCall. You’ve got TheCry. You’ve got the National Day of Prayer. You’ve got OneCry. You’ve got Cry Out America. You’ve got Broken Before the Throne. Indeed, there is a diversity of dedicated prayer warriors from coast to coast organizing solemn assemblies based on 2 Chronicles 7:14.

If all this prayer worked, the naysayers argue, why haven’t abortions ended? Why hasn’t revival come? Why hasn’t there been a long-prophesied Third Great Awakening? Why isn’t the prayer changing anything? I believe the prayers are making an impact, even though things often appear to be growing worse despite massive intercession.

Beware the Spirit of Unbelief

Still, some are skeptical. They don’t believe that God’s Word doesn’t return to Him void. They don’t believe it accomplishes what He sent it to do (see Is. 55:11). They don’t believe if two of us agree on earth as touching anything that we get what we ask for (see Matt. 18:19). Simply stated, they don’t believe.

That unbelief leads to questions, arguments and declarations.  They ask, “Why even bother praying anymore?” They argue, “This nation is going to hell in a hand basket no matter what we do!” They declare, “It’s too late for America.”

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Christian Students Executed by Boko Haram in Nigeria; Believers Pray for ‘Change of Heart

By Katherine Weber , Christian Post Reporter – October 3, 2012

Multiple sources have confirmed that about 25 to 30 Christian college students were massacred at a university in northeastern Nigeria late Monday night, causing Christians to pray for a “change of heart” among the extremist Islamist group Boko Haram to put a stop to the continued violence.

While there is speculation as to the motive of the massacre, sources close to the human rights watchdog Open Doors USA confirm that the massacre was performed by Boko Haram.

Emily Fuentes, the communications and public relations coordinator for Open Doors who recently visited Nigeria and spoke to Christian leaders about Boko Haram, told The Christian Post that believers around the world can agree that prayer is the “only thing that will change the people of Boko Haram.”

“There are people who are turning to Christ who used to be in the Boko Haram, and God is changing their hearts,” Fuentes told CP.

“A lot of Christians believe that God will change these peoples’ hearts,” she added.

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Muslim Immigrants Five Times More Likely to Commit Crimes than Australians

Posted by Daniel Greenfield Bio ? on Sep 27th, 2012 

According to the Victorial Police Commissioner...

Sudanese and Somali-born Victorians are about five times more likely to commit crimes than the wider community, a trend that must be addressed to prevent Cronulla-style social unrest, police warn. The most common crimes committed by Somali and Sudanese-born Victorians are assault and robbery illustrating the trend towards increasingly violent robberies by disaffected African youths.

Are they mugging Australians because they are “disaffected” or because they make money that way?

‘Property is one of the issues, so they’re stealing iPhones or money or things of value,” Mr Cartwright said.

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Media Release: Candlelight vigil for the 88 Aussies and the others who were tragically killed in Bali

Media release For immediate release Candlelight vigil for the 88 Aussies and the others who were tragically killed in Bali We still enjoy our holidays, but 88 Aussies never came…

Continue ReadingMedia Release: Candlelight vigil for the 88 Aussies and the others who were tragically killed in Bali

Millions of Global Christians United in Prayer on October 7 During The Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem

Millions of Christians united across denominational, cultural, and political differences on Sunday, October 7, as part of The Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem (DPPJ) to intercede for the city God calls His own and to invoke God’s blessing, purposes, and provision upon all of Jerusalem’s people. From over 175 nations, believers gathered to pray in their worship services, in their homes, on college campuses, in regional gatherings, and on a 24 Hour Prayer Conference Call.

Broadcast by GOD TV to over 200 nations, Christians were also able to join the special DPPJ Celebration at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem. It was co-hosted by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem ( ICEJ), who had gathered more than 5,000 believers from nearly 90 countries for that week. Its Executive Director – Dr. Jürgen Bühler – told the packed audience: “We have to pray for Israel like never before and stand with Israel like never before. We have to pray for all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, both Jew and Arab…and as we pray for Israel, we must pray for the Arab nations too.”

Special guests and speakers participating in the Jerusalem event included the Israeli Hip Hop artists “Lions of Zion”, as well as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, MK Danny Danon; Chief Rabbi of Efrat, Dr. Shlomo Riskin; International Director of Interreligious Affairs of the AJC, Rabbi Dr. David Rosen; and other Jewish and Evangelical Christian leaders.

This multinational, multi-denominational DPPJ global prayer movement was started in 2002 by Evangelical Christian leaders with Dr. Jack W. Hayford and Rev. Dr. Robert Stearns serving as co-chairmen. Rev. Stearns, Founder/Director of Eagles’ Wings, explained: “We are gathering together in Jerusalem during the season of the High Holidays and declaring that Christians will continue to pray for G-d’s peace to come to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. We will remind G-d of His promises, and we will remind Israel’s detractors that Israel is not alone.” (more…)

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God Is on Your Side

Excerpted from Higher Ground (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1995) by R.T. Kendall

If the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us … they would have swallowed us alive. … Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. —Psalm 124:2-3, 6

Do you know what it is like to have somebody physically attack you? The trauma is one that, humanly speaking, you don’t overcome easily. Or perhaps you have been verbally attacked. You know the awful feeling when somebody points a finger of blame at you.

The Lord’s people in this psalm were the objects of anger. It is very frightening to be near someone who is angry. Perhaps you live in constant fear of a co-worker’s temper or the angry outbursts of a loved one. You know how it feels to live in a situation from which you wish you could be delivered.

The truth is, your real enemy is the devil. The devil’s work is to cloud your mind. He can come as an angel of light; that means that he will work through someone who has the appearance of being very righteous, a person of integrity, a person who is believable. Or he may come as a roaring lion.

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Study: Most Churchgoers Don’t Read Bible Daily

Charisma News – 9/12/2012 Russ Rankin/Lifeway

While the majority of churchgoers desire to honor Christ with their lives and even profess to think on biblical truths, a recent study found few actually engage in personal reading and study of the Scriptures.

“Bible engagement” is one of the eight attributes of discipleship identified in the Transformational Discipleship study conducted by LifeWay Research. The study produced the Transformational Discipleship Assessment, which measures an individual’s spiritual growth in each of these areas of development.

The survey found 90 percent of churchgoers agree “I desire to please and honor Jesus in all I do,” and 59 percent agree with the statement: “Throughout the day I find myself thinking about biblical truths.” While the majority agree with both statements, there is a significant difference in the strength of agreement. Nearly two-thirds of churchgoers (64 percent) strongly agree with the first statement, but only 20 percent strongly agree with the second.

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CTFM Meetings Schedule and Live Webcast Info for next two weeks

Dear Family and Friends in Christ, 1) This Sunday 7th October and also next Sunday 14th October Pr Daniel will be ministering at both the 9.30am & 6.30pm services at…

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Further to the Religious Vilification Laws re the two Dannys – Blasphemy laws and ‘defamation’ of Islam

Dear family & friends in Christ,

Further to our previous post regarding Bob Carr’s statement on the religious vilification laws re the two Danny’s, please read and act on the following important email from Salt Shakers.

UN – Blasphemy laws and ‘defamation’ of Islam Posted online.

The UN is again considering ‘defamation of religion’ laws. Last year a ‘compromise motion’ on ‘religious tolerance’ – with similar aims – was approved by the UN (source).

We want Australia to oppose – and vote AGAINST – both ‘defamation of religion’ laws and also ‘religious tolerance’ laws.

See the ACTION section below – contact PM Julia Gillard and Foreign Minister Bob Carr.

In Victoria, we are acutely aware of the problems caused by the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act, introduced by the Bracks Labor government in 2001.

The most high-profile case, involving Pastor Daniel Scot and Catch the Fire Ministries, caused huge angst and took five years to ‘resolve’! Religious vilification laws create disharmony and unrest. They are often used to shut down debate and criticism.

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Continue ReadingFurther to the Religious Vilification Laws re the two Dannys – Blasphemy laws and ‘defamation’ of Islam

Robert Spencer in PJ Media: Now that the U.S. Is an Islamic State…

By Robert Spencer – PJ Media

In PJ Media this morning I discuss how Obama is now enforcing Sharia blasphemy laws on American troops:

A bipartisan group of six senators recently wrote to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, asking that he free Rimsha Masih, the eleven-year-old girl who was being held on blasphemy charges and is still under serious threat of mob violence and resumed prosecution even though she has been released on bail. The letter is a welcome indication that the world is finally noticing Pakistan’s blasphemy laws — but working at cross purposes with those who are trying to get Pakistan to scrap these laws is none other than Barack Obama, who is now doing nothing less than effectively enforcing them upon the U.S. military. The senators wrote to the wrong President.

Rimsha reportedly has Down syndrome, yet was charged with blasphemy for allegedly burning some pages of the Qur’an among some trash she had collected. Even worse, a Muslim cleric has now been accused of planting the pages of the Qur’an among the remnants of the papers she burned, so as to ensure her conviction. According to Pakistan’s Dawn, a witness “said he tried to stop the cleric from tampering with the evidence, but he insisted it would strengthen the case and lead to eviction of the girl’s family from the locality.”

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Muslim Brotherhood Calls for More Protests Against America

Posted by Daniel Greenfield Bio ? on Sep 12th, 2012 

Brotherhood secretary-general Mahmoud Hussein called for a “peaceful protest to condemn insults to religious convictions and insults to the Prophet”, adding it would start after noon prayers on Friday in front of main mosques across Egypt.

Right… peaceful. Morsi did not condemn the attacks and his government failed to provide proper protection even though a similar attack had been launched against the Israeli embassy.

The Egyptian media has been stoking the flames of this conflict and Morsi recently took control of the media and appointed Muslim Brotherhood loyalists to head state-owned media outlets. That means there is a high probability that the Muslim Brotherhood directed this attack or at the very least used propaganda to set it in motion.

Obama is handing a cool billion to Morsi, but the Muslim Brotherhood is still conducting protests against America. The Arabic Muslim Brotherhood site contains a call from the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood calls for “official and popular levels of action to stop this crime against Islam.” While the English Ikhwan site has put up a condemnation of the Benghazi attack, no such condemnation exists on the Arabic Ikhwan site.

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Foreign Minister Bob Carr speaks out against Sydney Riots/Racial & Religious Vilification laws and quotes the case of the two Pastors

The Two Dannys' Celebrate God's VictoryDear family & friends in Christ,

In case you did not get the opportunity to watch the program “Insiders” on 23rd September 2012 on ABC24, attached is the link to the broadcast. If you fast forward it to the 3 minute mark and then watch the footage for the next 2 minutes, you will hear Foreign Minister Bob Carr speak out against the Racial & Religious vilification laws, from New York.  He then refers to the “Pastors” (Daniel Nalliah & Daniel scot) and the long drawn out court case in Victoria.

To watch,  click on one of the two links below:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-23/bob-carr/4276020

http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/content/2012/s3596032.htm

‘BARRIE CASSIDY: Now the Turkish prime minister, as I understand it, is putting forward a proposal for international laws on religious defamation. What do you make of that idea?

Bob CARR: ‘I don’t think that would be acceptable to the Western world.  We had a little example of how religious vilification laws work in a case that gained some notoriety under the Victorian legislation, and it meant drawn-out legal process directed at some pastors who would have gained, without this, no publicity whatsoever for their criticism of Islam. I think dragging religious disputes into the courts is a very bad notion.

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Gay marriage bill ‘personal’ for senator

AAP • 17/09/2012 

The same-sex marriage debate has a personal dimension for Labor Senator Louise Pratt, who has a transgender partner.

An emotional Senator Pratt has told the Senate the law as it stands discriminates against her relationship and those of many other Australians.

“I am one of those hundreds of thousands of Australian citizens who knows that the laws of our nation hold our capacity for love and for commitment to be lesser because of the gender of our partner,” she said on Monday.

“One of hundreds of thousands of Australian citizens who knows that the laws of our nation say we are less deserving of rights, respect and recognition.

“We know that those ideas are not true and that the laws that reinforce them are not right.

“This debate has a personal impact for me.”

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Victory for pro-lifers in key freedom of expression case

Published by Christian Concern – September 17th, 2012

A District Judge, sitting at Brighton Magistrates’ Court announced today that all charges were being dismissed against Christian pro-life campaigner Andy Stephenson. The case against his fellow campaigner, Kathryn Sloane, was dismissed on Thursday of last week (13 Sep) during the same trial.

All charges against both campaigners have therefore now been dismissed. District Judge Nicholson’s reasoning in the case is expected at 2pm tomorrow (18 Sep).

Andy and Kathryn were supported by the Christian Legal Centre and were represented in Court by human rights barrister Paul Diamond and Mr Michael Phillips.

Andy and Kathryn, members of the campaign group Abort67, were arrested in June 2011, whilst demonstrating silently in the vicinity of Wistons Clinic, operated by leading abortion provider BPAS, in Brighton. As part of its public education project, the group, which has held peaceful protests outside the establishment for 5 years, displays images of aborted babies but does so silently and without harassment.

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Ryan: Obama’s Position on Israel ‘Borders on Contempt’

Charisma News 9/17/2012-  David Brody /CBN News Chief Political Correspondent

GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan says the Obama administration’s actions toward Israel border on “contempt.”

It was just one of several criticisms the Wisconsin representative had regarding President Obama’s foreign policy record.

The minute Ryan came onto the scene, conservatives couldn’t get enough of him, heaping praise on their fresh, 42-year-old idea man.

All the energy and rave reviews, however, have not translated into a lead in the polls against the president—at least not yet.

“Why do you think he’s still leading at the polls at this point?” CBN News’s David Brody asked Ryan.

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