I have some bad news to report. Just yesterday, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston declared that part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. The federal definition of marriage as being the union of one man and one woman has applied to all federal laws, regulations and benefits since 1996. This lawsuit involves claims from same-sex couples demanding federal benefits that are reserved for heterosexual couples.
Essentially, the appellate court said the federal government—and by extension, the taxpayers in all 50 states—must subsidize whatever types of arrangements a state may choose to call "marriage."
Think about that for minute. In the 1800s, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of Congress to forbid polygamy in any territory wishing to apply for statehood. But the federal appeals court in Boston today ignored that history and declared Congress has no interest in keeping the definition of marriage the same as it has been for thousands of years.
The U.S. isn't the only country struggling with this issue. Watch this week’s Citizen Link Report (http://www.citizenlink.com/2012/05/31/citizenlink-report-world-congress-of-families/) in which Focus on the Family's director of international governmental affairs, Yuri Mantilla, discusses how pro-family groups across the globe are dealing with it.
It gets even more disturbing. In the ruling, the judges pointed out that the same-sex couples' claims would fail under the usual judicial tests applied to these types of constitutional challenges. Therefore, they applied a new and entirely different test—one they said was gleaned from a few federal cases they dredged up just for the occasion. It's funny that no other federal court has applied this new test in any of the other DOMA cases that lower courts have decided—and there have been several.
The 1st Circuit did manage to get one thing right, however: The judges said this issue ultimately must be decided by the Supreme Court. That's where we expect this case will end up, maybe as soon as October, when the court begins its next session.
Please join me in praying that the high court will see through the 1st Circuit's legal gymnastics and reverse this blatant attempt at social engineering by judicial decree.
Our gathering may be well summed up by one sister who said, "I want to Honor Father God for what He has done among us and melting all our hearts together in one unity as a family. I am thankful for all the open-heart sharing, which I truly treasure and is far beyond my expectation and imagination. To God be the glory!"
What a joy and honor it was to be able to allow the hearts of 18 church and ministry leaders to be knit in love for one another. For three days we gathered without agenda except to share our hearts and corporately seek God's destiny for our city. The group was intimate and small so we were able to bond in a very deep way. Although each of us is responsible for local congregations or ministries, we came together as sons and daughters of God (and as a family) and talked about ourselves as people, our families, our dreams, and we were not allowed to talk about our work or ministry!
We became transparent, and we opened ourselves up to be vulnerable. We were not afraid of judgment because we felt safe with each other, as each of us was being honest about personal things. By opening up to one another and showing tender care for one another, we walked out the truth that "if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7)."
One brother wrote: “Thank you for investing the time into being together these past few days. God has done amazing things amongst us. Most of all He is just pleased that we came together attempting and practicing to be family. I thank you so much for not judging me and standing together as family. I want to celebrate this great joy with you all. Glory to our heavenly Father whose love surpasses our knowledge and continues to amaze us with how much more He loves than we can comprehend.”
The vision of God reigning in Hong Kong is a common vision that drew us together. We know that our congregations and ministries are part of His plan and humbly we confess that, while we may have a part of this vision, we need each other to fulfill the entire plans of God. That is why we called the gathering “Seeking God’s Destiny for Hong Kong Retreat.” As we pursue to fulfill his calling and purpose for us as people, communities, and city that, no matter what trial or challenge, whether famine or fatness, we will not miss the mark.
A sister who ministers in the marketplace noted, "I began to see that a lot of pre-conceived ideas about one another fell off, and I began to see others as God shows. A lot of new solid relationships were built from this as walls between some of us were torn down with a fresh perspective of one another. We could be honest, in particular, marketplace Christians, about ourselves and how we look at Hong Kong and the world and how we also have a special perspective to give. I found this affirming and know it is right in the sight of God."
One couple said, “We have been transformed by your love and honesty! Today, we brought this culture [of trust and love] back to our company and everything changed! Thank you Father and thank you everyone!”
We will continue to inquire of the Lord of His ways and purposes that we might be able to see God's destiny fulfilled in each other, in our city, and in our generation. As we start trusting each other, we pray that we will be guarded so this trust remains. Thank you for your prayer of faith.
As a parting word, one sister commented, “There's nothing more powerful than this Love that we carry. Let us continue to love each other and to love those who are lost in the world, and WE WILL SEE His Kingdom come and His will be done HERE TODAY on earth as it is in heaven.”
Christians Killed – Since the establishment of Sharia Law in Northern Nigeria in 2001, over 13,750 Christians have been killed for their faith by Muslims.
Churches Destroyed – Just since December 2011, over 300 churches have been destroyed in Northern Nigeria.
Threat - Five million Christians in Northern Nigeria live under severe persecution. Radical Islamic groups regularly issue ultimatums to Christian communities: “You have three days to leave, or you will die!” Christians throughout Northern Nigeria are continuing to suffer a series of attacks which are often pre-planned and well-coordinated. There are many attempts to force them to convert to Islam under the threat of death. Many have courageously died as Martyrs rather than deny Christ.
Jihad – Islamists in Nigeria call it Odium Fidei – The War of Religion. In the village of Dogo Nahawa, Islamists with machetes killed over 300 Christians, mostly woman and children.
A Battle for the Soul of a Country – Many Muslims, both persecutors and those appalled by the behaviour of the Radical Jihadists, have been won to Christ in recent years. The scale of persecution of Christians by Muslims in Northern Nigeria has accelerated over the last decade. Many hundreds, even into the thousands, of church buildings have been damaged or destroyed, and thousands of believers have been murdered.
Muslims are Coming to Christ – An evangelist in Northern Nigeria writes to us: “Islamic hatred for the Gospel of Christ is seen in many ways. On a Muslim website under the title Evangelism Invasion, they complain that Christian Evangelism has become a big threat to them. Muslims are being incited to reject and oppose the Gospel, claiming that Northern Nigeria is Islamic, and no Muslim should listen to or accept the Gospel. Please pray for me and my team. We are compelled to preach the Gospel, no matter the risks involved. Some Muslim children get the beating of their lives just for their presence in outreach centres, but the beatings didn’t stop them from coming the following day either. In the midst of the bombs, God is still moving powerfully in Northern Nigeria. Muslims are coming to know Christ, the only way to Salvation.”
“Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.” 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2
Isaiah 16:4 “Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer. The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land.”
Throughout human history, there have been regular times where large numbers of people have had to seek refuge away from their traditional homes. The situation is very difficult for the refugee. They are among strangers who often use and abuse them. God told His children through Isaiah that they should provide shelter to Moabites. And this was one of the people groups the Israelites often fought!
Pray that we will obey the words of Isaiah and give shelter to those who have been our enemies.
The refugee highway spans the globe and is filled with stories of human suffering. The challenges encountered along the highway are complex and include meeting spiritual needs, dealing with emergency crises, providing physical necessities, healing emotional trauma, and advocating for justice. The Refugee Highway Partnership grew out of a vision to connect the many different people involved in ministry at diverse points along the refugee highway. World Refugee Sunday is an opportunity for you to join the churches around the world in praying for refugees and internally displaced people. World Refugee Sunday is celebrated by the Refugee Highway Partnership in cooperation with the World Evangelical Alliance. You can find additional information about refugees and displaced personas at: www.refugeehighway.net. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information. Website: http://www.refugeehighway.net/events/world-refugee-sunday
World Refugee Sundays: June 17 or 24 (taken from http://www.refugeehighway.net/)
Pray for refugees who are resettling in strange lands. Everything is new and different for them. Protect them from thieves. Help them to communicate well. Give them patience with one another and with those they contact. Above all, pray for them to have the chance to experience Jesus’ saving power.
We are now on a relief mission in Kachin State, Northern Burma, and here there is no ceasefire. During the training of the new teams, we could hear shells explode as the Burma Army shelled villages nearby with 105 Howitzers, 120mm and 81mm mortars. Over 50,000 people remain displaced, and during this mission, we saw over 12,000 of them in eight different sites…Attacks have slowed down this month to three in our area, and one we witnessed, but there are still over 110 Burma Army battalions operating in Kachin State…
What can we do? For us it seems we can do very little - but those little things we can do, we do with all our might. We pray with and for the IDPs; we run a Good Life Club program of songs, health and spiritual teaching for children and skits and games for the families; we hand out sports equipment for schools to teachers and t-shirts for the kids, and set up a mobile clinic to treat basic ailments and pull teeth as needed; we interview the people here and send their stories out around the world; we go near to and recon Burma Army camps to monitor their activity and put a light on their actions. During this mission, we visited IDPs near towns as well as in the jungle and spent most of our mission on foot to reach different communities, document destroyed villages and report on the Burma Army activities…
We did multiple recons of Burma Army camps, usually only able to get no closer than one kilometer away, but sometimes we were able to move within 200 yards of their camps. We took photos of the Burma Army as they occupied the ground that belonged to the Kachin people and as they sat in dominant positions overlooking villages, towns, bridges and the Taping River dam they had taken. Even as we observed them, I felt sorry for them: they looked hungry, unkempt and not motivated. Their mission is not a noble one, and I believe they know it. So we crawl as close as we can, document as much as we can, and even though sometimes we do not want to, we pray for them. All of us are in need of redemption and while we stand with the oppressed, we know the line between good and evil runs between each heart, not between people. We also pray for ourselves to not be wounded, captured or killed as we do this…
I write this from a small dilapidated bamboo hut on the edge of a town ransacked and burned by the Burma Army, and it is clear that the situation in Burma is not simple. In Burma there is more than one government. There is the central government, and there are many representative ethnic governments. While positive changes have occurred, there are still attacks and oppression. We had a very good meeting in March with representatives of the central government, and we felt mutual warmth and a shared sincerity for change, but on the ground in some areas we see other realities as well: children killed, homes destroyed, churches desecrated, people fleeing. As changes occur in Burma, how can people under oppression and attack be helped in a more comprehensive way? What do you do when oppression which is destructive to both oppressed and oppressor goes on? We thank you for your part in standing with and helping those who are in need and not yet free. While giving thanks for the signs of liberalization and reconciliation that have been reported on in the past months, let us continue to pray for His healing and transformation of Burma and for the ministry of Dave Eubank and other believers who are interceding and serving inside the nation.
Here is another report for prayer from local prayer leader friends in another area of Burma:
Thank you so much for all your concern and prayer for Myanmar. I would like to update the situation in Rakhine State.
More than 50 people have been killed and 54 wounded in the communal clashes, state media said on June 16. A total of 5280 houses were burnt including 9 Buddhist monasteries, 7 Mosques, and a school building. Nearly 31,900 people from both sides are being housed in 37 camps across Rakhine. According to UN, around 90,000 people fled including those who are in the camps. The Government as well as the local authorities and those who are helping the IDP said there is a huge need for humanitarian help (food, clothing, etc.) right now.
Those who remained in the Rakhine state capital, Sittwe, slowly started coming out on the streets after tensions between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas appeared to have eased after five days of rioting, torching houses, and knife attacks. Praise the Lord! We are witnessing God’s intervention. The situation is under control.
However, it is very important to pray that this conflict (between Buddhists & Muslims) would not be spreading to other parts of the nation. The U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomas Ojeas Quintana, said the escalating violence in Rakhine state represented a “serious threat to the country’s future”. “It is a threat to Myanmar’s democratic transition and stability,” Ojea Quintana said in a statement issued in Geneva.
Some people firmly believe that there are some who do not like the country’s democratization and reforms taking place in the nation, who caused to spread the spark to the whole Rakhine, and are wanting to see spreading the whole nation. Please continue to pray that the Lord who has answered our prayer by starting a good work in reforming our country will continue to do it until we see revival and transformation and His glory fully manifested. Pray that the Rakhine Buddhists and the Muslim Rohingyas will experience God’s love, God’s provision, and they will get saved.
Thanks so much for all your prayer support. May the Lord bless you all,
A Burmese couple in prayer ministry.
We thank you for your faithful prayer for India! It is a huge, diverse country, full of contradictions. In spite of official freedom of religion and the fact that the Hindu fanatic BJP party has been pushed from power in the central government, the persecution of Christians continues to be of great concern. When the Hindu fundamentalistic BJP party was governing at the center, they had to at least make the appearance of tolerance, but once in power in regional or state governments, they are resorting to open persecution to push their ideology through. For the Hinduvata, to be Indian is to be Hindu. There is no room for either Christian or Muslim.
Anti-conversion laws exist in 7 states: Himachal Pradesh, Rajastan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Orissa and Aruanachal Pradesh. Severe persecution is reported in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Pray for the body of Christ in India; there are very strong, alive and active churches! Pray for them to continue to be strong and courageous. Pray for them to be able to make the push into the last unreached corners of their nation.
The protest movement against Omar al-Bashir is growing – fast – and it needs the world’s support. Some excerpts from an article by Amir Ahmad Nasr
June 26, 2012
“The past decade has been a roller-coaster ride for the Sudanese citizens. From the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur to the ethnic cleansing campaign targeting the Nuba people to the violent border clashes that accompanied the separation with South Sudan, this nation has witnessed hell. At least 200,000 people have lost their lives, and 2 million more have been displaced in Darfur alone, according to conservative U.N. estimates. Hundreds more have died during the recent border clashes between the two Sudans, and thousands have been driven from their homes.
But now there is a glimmer of hope. Daily growing protests against President Omar al-Bashir’s regime are spreading demographically and geographically, along with calls for strikes and civil disobedience. The spark was the government’s June 18 announcement of a new round of austerity measures, including massively unpopular cuts to fuel subsidies. The most dramatic protests have so far occurred in Khartoum’s al-Daim neighborhood, where police used extreme force and obscene amounts of tea gas in an attempt to suppress the demonstrators. In an example of the defiant mood taking over the streets, the protesters responded by burning a police truck.
As the fear barrier crumbles, Sudanese have a chance to topple Bashir and his National Congress Party (NCP) cronies – and to build a better future for their country.
It is important to understand why Sudanese would risk their lives to oppose Bashir. The narratives peddled by some commentators about the country’s recent conflicts – that they are between “Arabs versus Africans,” or “Muslims versus Christians” – are not only unhelpful, they are wrong. These characterizations have neither benefited the international community nor the diverse citizens of Sudan – including the Arabs and Afro-Arabs of the North who felt alienated by it and who have been violently oppressed for decades.
John Garang, the late southern Sudanese leader, made a crucial contribution to framing the situation as it atually is: A struggle between Sudan’s diverse population and Omar al-Bashir’s heinous dictatorship, which uses religion and tribalism to divide and control. “The Northerners are suffering too,” Garang said in one speech. “This is the problem of governance in Khartoum.”…
“It is not secret that Bashir’s Islamist regime, which seized power in a military coup on June 30, 1989, and hosted Osama bin Laden in the early 1990s before kicking him out only under withering international pressure, has a long list of bloody failings. But it just may be the worsening economic situation, which seems to have been the last straw for a growing number of non-ideological citizens of Khartoum, that could end his grip on power. The recent austerity cuts have been particularly painful in a country already suffering from inflation that hovers over 30 percent and which lost more than 70 percent of all its oil revenues upon South Sudan’s independence.
The recent demonstrations in Sudan’s capital are different than previous student-led protests. They have been strategically dispersed – relatively small crowds have spread out in numerous locations throughout Khartoum, stretching and exhausting the security forces’ resources. Demonstrations calling for the fall of the regime erupted in university campuses as well as in Wad Nubawai, al-Sajjana, Bahri, Jabra, al-Kalaakla, and Um Badda, among other neighborhoods and areas in the capital.
Unlike in the past, the protests were not just led by students but also by older folks and Sudanese women and mothers. There were also coordinated protests in other towns and regions throughout Sudan such as Kosti, Sinnar, and the northern parts of the country…
So far the response by the government, its armed thugs, and the NISS has been predictably brutal. In addition to tear gas and rubber bullets, student activists have reported being attacked by pro-government “militias” intent on breaking up the protests. It will likely get more violent. Yet despite the mass arrests of protesters…the demonstrations are continuing and intensifying.
The world has long struggled for a solution to the seemingly endless humanitarian disaster in Sudan. The protesters’ victory would represent a way forward. With Bashir and the NCP battered and gone, the door to change will open up in Khartoum – and a new, more responsible government could lead to better policies toward South Sudan and Darfur. Better leadership could bring the kind of peace that will finally ensure economic development in both Sudans – fueled by their bountiful oil reserves – and also open its doors to foreign governments and international oil companies seeking to invest and grow.
The Sudanese street has shown its resolve loud and clear. Time is now of the essence, in light of the protests’ building momentum and worsening crackdown. There isn’t a moment to lose: The international community must do its part to help Sudan achieve a better future. Let us please support the Sudanese struggle for liberation from this dictatorial oppressive and genocidal regime by our prayers!
Eritrea has been described as “the North Korea of Africa” because of the harsh, brutal treatment of the Christians by the dictatorship there. Christian Solidarity has produced the attached video about the suffering of a pastor who escaped to tell what conditions are like for fellow believers still imprisoned there. Please watch and pray for these dear people and that the government would be reformed or if need be overthrown.