If Bono, Adele and Paul McCartney Were Coming, Would You?
LARRY TOMCZAK CHARISMA NEWS
Oftentimes people inquire about who will be at a particular event. This determines if they'll show.
Whether it's a party, pastor's luncheon or citywide event, we gauge the importance of a gathering by who'll be present. Just common sense, right? Star power affects attendance.
What about if the entire focus of a function was not on a celebrity but someone unseen, unattractive and unwanted? Add to the equation this individual is the target of an insidious Satanic scheme to snuff out his very life?
We've probably got better things to do. After all, what difference does one person really make?
The Power of One
This Friday, a momentous event takes place in our nation's capital.
It's a massive gathering wherein hundreds of thousands of passionate and polite pro-lifers unite yearly to call attention to the silent screams of the estimated 4,000 unborn children exterminated through the dismemberment of abortion every single day in America.
The 44th annual March for Life has a simple mission: testify to the beauty of life and the dignity of each unborn person. This is the largest pro-life event in the entire world. The theme for 2017 is "The Power of One."
I'd like to encourage you to not only attend and unite with us in intercessory prayer but also to become more engaged in the defense of unborn children in this new political climate with Trump's election.
We now have a president who stands for the sanctity of human life and is committed to appoint only pro-life Supreme Court Justices. We have Vice President Mike Pence, who is a long-standing advocate for unborn babies. We also have a forthcoming attorney general, Jeff Sessions, who has a sterling 100 percent pro-life record from the National Right to Life.
This comes providentially only days after what millions assumed would be the inauguration of die-hard pro-abortionist, Hillary Clinton, and the Women's March on Washington, where throngs chanted support for Planned Parenthood and "women's reproductive rights." This organization, which is about to lose taxpayer funding, once articulated its position, "An abortion kills the life of the baby after it has begun."
The high point at the Women's March was a 15-minute tirade by actress/activist Ashley Judd, who not long ago spent six and a half weeks at a treatment center for depression and insomnia. She said she believes it's "selfish" and "unconscionable to breed" after sharing at the Democratic National Convention how glad she was to have had an abortion.
Understanding the Annual March for Life
The "Joan of Arc" of the pro-life movement, the late Nellie Gray, was a hero to millions, including me. She pioneered the March for Life after gathering folks in her home following the infamous Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion on demand in 1973. Our church honored her one Sunday with a commemorative plaque and prayer for her, and a standing ovation to let her know we believe in the power of one life to make a difference.
Despite minimal press coverage and mockery from rabid pro-abortion advocates, we saw attendance at the March for Life of 250,000 during 2003–2009; 400,000 between 2011–2012; and an estimated 650,000 in 2013. While living in the Washington, D.C., area for 24 years, we bundled up our children and made it an annual family event, no matter how cold or how wet it was. I participated by carrying a wooden baby coffin to call attention to our cause.
In a national conference call of 1,000 people, sponsored by our ministry, Intercessors for America, we recently heard from the woman directing this year's march. Her appeal was that we undergird this massive gathering with prayer for protection of everyone in attendance. Please unite with us for security to be perfect.
This sacred rally begins at 11:45 a.m.. this Friday, Jan. 27, and the actual march follows at 1:00 p.m. It convenes on the grounds of the National Mall and prayerfully proceeds to the Supreme Court.
No, Bono, Adele and Paul McCartney won't be present. But we are grateful that Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, will speak, along with senators, congressmen, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, author Eric Metaxas and Benjamin Watson of the Baltimore Ravens. A former Planned Parenthood Director, Abby Johnson, will also share her experience, to the dismay of Planned Parenthood officials.
In the past, President George W. Bush and Dr. Alveda King addressed us. President Ronald Reagan delivered phone messages to show his solidarity.
Nellie once asked former President Barack Obama to speak at the 36th annual March for Life, but he declined. Instead, he released a statement stating his support for abortion. How tragic.
Last Saturday's March for Women in D.C. was supposed to be an "inclusive" event for all women. Interestingly, the pro-life feminists who were originally included in the "partnership," were kicked out. I guess pre-born little women don't count, nor do those who dare to differ from pro-abortion proponents. At the march, Madonna called for a "revolution of love" after declaring, "[obscenity] you!" to all detractors.
Three Closing Commitments
1. Prepare yourself to engage people in a charitable and clear way on the sanctity of human life issue.
Scripture commands us, "Open your mouth for the speechless in the cause of all such as our appointed to destruction. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy" (Prov. 31:8-9).
The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., who wholeheartedly supported the sanctity of life, said it best: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Can we count you among us?
We strongly encourage you to avail yourself of the Bullseye Challenge free videos and accompanying book that will equip you to respond courageously, winsomely and biblically to the 10 most common pro-abortion arguments in Chapter 24.
2. Pray regularly for God's intervention in this critical issue.
America's greatest casualties are not those killed in wars but the innocent and defenseless unborn. The Revolutionary War took 25,000 lives; the Civil War, 498,000; World War I, 116,000; World War II, 545,000 lives; the Korean War, 54,000; Vietnam War, 56,000; Iraq and Afghanistan, 6,600.
Since 1973, we have seen over 58 million unborn babies exterminated through abortion in America. We cannot remain passive but must pray fervently for God's strategy and divine intervention to see Roe v. Wade overturned in our generation.
3. This week, on the anniversary of the infamous Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion on demand, participate either in the National March for Life or a local event in your community.
Go to Marchforlife.org or the National Right to Life website for information. Make it a priority to be involved in the pro-life cause.
Before her death, Mother Teresa spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., with then-President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary (staunch supporters of unfettered abortion and Planned Parenthood), listening at her side.
Responding to those who say abortions spares "unwanted" children, the diminutive, saintly nun extended her arms and said as Bill and Hillary listened attentively, "There is no such thing as an unwanted child! Bring any such child to me. I will find them a home!"
Later she stated, "We cannot fight credibly against other social and moral ills, including poverty and violence, while we tolerate mass killings by abortion."
Here's the deal: The Hippocratic Oath (400 B.C.) until recently prohibited aborting an unborn baby. With our current changing political climate, it is time to make a quality decision that we will never again be silent on this issue. As secular forces are aggressive in propagating their deceptive viewpoint, we must rise to the challenge as we pray and respond pro-actively at this pivotal time.
Remember the power of one, and be a part of the pro-life generation! 
Larry Tomczak is a cultural commentator of 43 yrs, Intercessors for America board member and best-selling author. His new, innovative video/book, BULLSEYE, develops informed influencers in 30 days (see www.bullseyechallenge.com). Click (here) for his "Here's the Deal" weekly podcast.
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Please enjoy and be super encouraged by our good friends from Bound4LIFE!
Due to extreme blizzard conditions [last] weekend, the March for Life received unprecedented national attention. Beyond crowd estimates or miracles in the midst of travel, a longtime Bound4LIFE intercessor tells firsthand what she saw and experienced.
(Washington, DC)—
No matter what the weather threw at us, we were determined to pray.
With our fingers getting cold, we began to write out Life Tape for the three dozen intercessors who had joined us. One by one, we took our place before the barricades—making up a wall of intercession before the court.
Intercessors from across the nation, undeterred by the forecast and bitter cold, had joined us to intercede on this critical day. Many of these individuals have had their lives shifted by prayer sieges like this very one.
Now he and his wife Kelsey have started up Zoe's House Adoption Agency in the midst of raising their ten children, six of whom are adopted.
In the midst of the tumult of protestors and bullhorns, our faithful band of intercessors experienced the peace of God. We set our hearts on our heavenly King, whom Isaiah 42ensures will faithfully bring forth justice in the earth.
This has opened doors for their team to present red Life Bands to a number of presidential candidates—a symbol of commitment to defend the unborn, and a daily reminder to pray.
Especially pertinent will be a challenge to the commonsense Texas law HB2 that requires abortion clinics to abide by widely accepted health, safety and sanitation standards.
The driving wind and icy cold could not dampen our spirits, as we know the momentum is shifting in America: public opinion now reflects firm beliefs in upholding the value of every life, including among millennials.
For Monique, uniting in prayer with Bound4LIFE Chapter Leaders from across the nation was especially meaningful. As a strong single mother, she has been faithfully praying with a small remnant for years outside a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in the Bronx in New York City – where more babies of color are aborted each year than born.
On this pivotal day, she did not stand alone. Monique returned to the Big Apple with a renewed hope for her community.
We do not stand in prayer begging to get God's attention.
Jesus is serious about ending the scourge of abortion. It is He who called us here. He will use prayer, and advocacy like the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, to change hearts and shift culture.
So week by week, day by day, small groups of intercessors will put on freshly hand-written pieces of Life Tape outside abortion clinics and court houses across America—as a witness to the silent unborn who are crying out for life.
For over a decade, Terri Shepherd has taken part in pro-life advocacy with Bound4LIFE—a grassroots movement to pray for the ending of abortion, carry the spirit of adoption, and believe for revival and reformation. She graduated from TheCall Institute at the International House of Prayer University in Kansas City, and earned a degree in social work from the University of Central Florida. Living in the Washington, DC area with her husband, Terri works at a leading Christian public policy organization. 
