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A custom message printer in Kentucky is legally allowed to decline orders that ask him to print messages that conflict with his religious beliefs.
A Kentucky court ruled Monday that the government cannot force the Lexington business Hands on Originals (HOO) to print messages that conflict with the owner's religious and moral beliefs.
The ruling comes a year after the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission ruled that HOO owner Blaine Adamson must print all messages customers order.
The Alliance Defending Freedom appealed the ruling to the Fayette County Circuit Court.
"The government can't force citizens to surrender free-speech rights or religious freedom in order to run a small business, and this decision affirms that," ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jim Campbell said.
"The court rightly recognized that the law protects Blaine's decision not to print shirts with messages that conflict with his beliefs, and that no sufficient reason exists for the government to coerce Blaine to act against his conscience in this way," he added.
Adamson came under fire when he declined to print custom T-shirts promoting a gay pride festival.
Since he did not agree with the message conveyed on the shirts, he offered to connect the customer with a different printer who would produce the shirts at the same price he would have charged.
Unsatisfied with that solution, the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization filed a complaint against Hands on Originals with the county Human Rights Commission charging HOO with illegal discrimination.
But the Fayette County Circuit Court concluded this week that Adamson did not violate the law when he declined to print the gay pride T-shirts.
The court reasoned that since Adamson employs and regularly does business with people who identify as homosexual, his decision not to print the shirts was not about discriminating against a homosexual customer, but rather about defending his freedom to decline to convey a message with which he disagrees.
"In short, HOO's declination to print the shirts was based upon the message of GLSO and the Pride Festival and not on the sexual orientation of its representatives or members," the court said.
The court continued, "There is nothing in the record before the Commission that the sexual orientation of any individual that had contact with HOO was ever divulged or played any part in this case."
GOTHENBURG, Sweden -- Mona Walter is on a mission. Her mission is for more Muslims to know what is in the Koran. She says if more Muslims knew what was in the Koran, more would leave Islam.
Walter came to Sweden from Somalia as a war refugee when she was 19. She says she was excited about joining a modern European nation with equal rights for women. But as a young Muslim woman, that was not the Sweden she encountered.
A Real Introduction to Islam
It was in Sweden that she first experienced radical Islam on a daily basis.
"I discovered Islam first in Sweden. In Somalia, you're just a Muslim, without knowing the Koran. But then you come to Sweden and you go to mosque and there is the Koran, so you have to cover yourself and you have to be a good Muslim."
Walter says she grew up in Somalia never having read the Koran.
"I didn't know what I was a part of. I didn't know who Mohammed was. I didn't know who Allah was. So, when I found out, I was upset. I was sad and I was disappointed," she recalled.
And it was in Sweden that Walters says she discovered Allah is a god who hates, and that Islam is not a religion of peace.
"It's about hating and killing those who disagree with Islam. It's about conquering. Mohammed, he was immoral. He was a bloodthirsty man. He was terrible man, and Muslims can read that in his biography -- what he did to Jews, how he raped women, how he killed people. I mean, he killed everyone who didn't agree with him," she explained.
Discouraged, Walter left Islam and became an atheist, until one day a family member encouraged her to read the Bible. She still remembers the first time she read Matthew 5:44, where Jesus said to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
Christianity, a New Perspective
"It was very strange for me to 'love your enemy,' because in Islam it is 'kill your enemy.' 'Kill your enemy and anyone who refuses Islam.' But Jesus Christ was all about love and peace and forgiveness and tolerance, and for some reason, I needed that," she said.
She went to see Pastor Fouad Rasho of Angered Alliance Church, a Syrian immigrant who ministers to former Muslims in Sweden.
"She started to believe and she came to me. And that was the beginning of her trusting," he said.
When she accepted Christ, Walter said she felt "so happy" and "filled with joy."
Walter says the Lord gave her a burden for Muslims who still do not know the truth about Islam. And she began to study the Koran, and began copying verses from the Koran and handing them out on the street to Muslim women.
Rescuing Muslims with Truth
"Sometimes they listen and sometimes they become very upset, and I tell them, 'You know your husband has a right to beat you if you don't obey him?' And they say 'No, It does not say that.' 'Yes, it does say that.' I thought if I tell them about Muhammed and about the Koran and about this god of Islam who hates, who kills, who discriminates against women, maybe they will have a choice and leave," she explained.
But in politically correct Sweden, Walter has come under attack for simply repeating what is in the Koran.
"I've been called an 'Islamophobe,' and yeah [they tell me], 'You've been bought,' 'You're a house nigger,' and stuff like that, terrible things, " she said.
She has also been called a racist. Walter warns that Islamic radicalism is a serious threat in Sweden, and says Swedish society should care more about women trapped in Islam.
"[Swedes] will think, 'Oh, we're in Sweden; we have freedom of religion,' but Muslim women don't have freedom of religion. They live under the law of Allah, not under Swedish law. So they will suppose everyone has freedom of religion. We don't have freedom of religion. It's not for Muslim women. It's for everyone else," Walter argued.
Walter lives under death threats and sometimes travels with police protection. She wanted to show us Muslim areas around Gothenburg, but had to first dress as a Muslim. She believes if she were to show her face, she would be attacked.
"I can never go to those areas just being me, flesh and blood Mona. I would never get out of there alive," she said.
"I mean, Muslims are normally good people like everyone else," she continued. "But then when they read the Koran, then they become a killing machine."
"This so-called ISIS or el Shabab or Boko Haram, they're not like extremists. They're not fanatical. They're just good Muslims, good Muslims who follow the teachings of Islam. The prophet Mohammed, he did that. They're doing what he did," she explained.
Walter now uses videos and speaking appearances to spread her message. And she says she won't stop, even though her life is in danger.
Hillary Clinton Wants Christians to Give Up on Bible Beliefs
Hillary Clinton's religious stance on abortion has changed over the years to match her politics. (Reuters)
Hillary Clinton claims to be Christian. Barack Obama claims to be a Christian. And I am claiming to a brain surgeon! Any takers?
You see just saying, "I am brain surgeon," doesn't mean I can perform brain surgery. I would need to back it up with a diploma and years of training. In the same way, no American will get elected President claiming, "The Bible is outdated, it's just a bunch of stories. I am humanistic socialist at heart!" Sure the left will have no problem with that, but you can't win without independents. So the candidates claim to be Christian—despite having very unchristian positions.
However in a day where anti-Biblical behavior is celebrated, where Bruce Jenner is called a Hero (not for winning the decathlon, but for identifying as a woman), it is only a matter of time before politicians began to boldly speakagainst the Bible.
Hillary Clinton is testing the waters. It is one thing to take anti-biblical positions, but to publicly call Americans to forsake the Bible is too much. Giving an address at the Women in the World Summit last week, she made this statement:
Far too many women are denied access to reproductive health care and safe childbirth, and laws don't count for much if they're not enforced. Rights have to exist in practice — not just on paper. Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will. And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefsand structural biases have to be changed.
It used to be, you were considered compassionate, caring and humble to embrace the values of the Bible. Now you are the enemy... according Secretary Clinton and President Obama. It is only going to get worse.
Ron Cantor is the director of Messiah's Mandate International in Israel, a Messianic ministry dedicated to taking the message of Jesus from Israel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Cantor also travels internationally teaching on the Jewish roots of the New Testament. He serves on the pastoral team of Tiferet Yeshua, a Hebrew-speaking congregation in Tel Aviv. His newest book is Identity Theft. Follow him at @RonSCantor on Twitter.
- See more at: http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/49375-hillary-clinton-wants-christians-to-give-up-on-bible-beliefs#sthash.7HDaLEaf.dpuf
Creationist Ken Ham Goes Toe to Toe With Arkansas Over Noah's Ark
Answers in Genesis' Ark Encounter phase 1 (YouTube)
Answers in Genesis (AiG) filed a motion in federal court this morning seeking an injunction against Kentucky officials who it believes are discriminating against AiG's Ark Encounter theme park development. The park, which is being built around a life-size recreation of Noah's Ark, is scheduled to open in Williamstown, Kentucky, in 2016.
With the injunction, AiG is asking the court to allow the Ark project to participate in a state sales tax rebate, even as its religious discrimination lawsuit proceeds. The motion today seeks to override the blocking efforts of Gov. Steven Beshear and his tourism secretary and send the incentive application directly to a state tourism board (the Tourism Development Finance Authority), where the ultimate approval for a tax rebate is given.
AiG is asking the court that its rebate application be treated by the state as it would one filed by a non-religious group and go through the approval process without being blocked. The Tourism Authority had already given preliminary approval to AiG's application, but when secularist groups around the country vigorously protested, the governor and his tourism secretary, Bob Stewart, bowed to the pressure and kept the application from being voted on by the Tourism Authority.
AiG and its affiliates, Crosswater Canyon and Ark Encounter, filed their civil rights lawsuit Feb. 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The suit shows that Sec. Stewart and Gov. Beshear are engaging in unlawful religious discrimination by "wrongfully excluding the plaintiffs from participation in the Kentucky Tourism Development Program simply because of who the plaintiffs are, what they believe, and how they express their beliefs."
Although the popular rebate program has allowed many other tourist attraction developers to qualify for a gradual rebate of a portion of the new state sales taxes their projects generate, AiG's lawsuit explains that its application for the program has been blocked by state officials simply because of: 1) the Ark project's religious messaging; and 2) the intention of AiG to utilize religious preferences in its hiring for the project.
"The state gave us no choice but to bring this legal action," said Ken Ham, AiG president and the visionary behind the new theme park. "We, along with our attorneys, tried for many months to show these officials why their actions are blatantly violating our rights under the federal and state constitutions, as well as the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Kentucky Civil Rights Act. The law is crystal clear that the state cannot discriminate against a Christian group simply because of its viewpoint, but that is precisely what is happening here."
The video features Ham and constitutional law attorney Mike Johnson. Johnson is the chief counsel of the non-profit public interest law firm, Freedom Guard, and is serving as co-counsel in the case pro bono, with Nate Kellum, chief counsel of the Center for Religious Expression. The firm of Taft Stettinius & Hollister is also serving in the case as local counsel. The video also includes clips of a 2010 Ark Encounter press conference, at which Gov. Beshear originally expressed his enthusiastic support for the Ark project.
"Every American should be concerned with this kind of overt government discrimination, regardless of their individual perspectives on the Bible," said Johnson. "When such an unconstitutional state action goes unchallenged, it sets a dangerous precedent for all other religious and minority groups. If our freedom of religion is not vigorously defended, it will be taken away."
- See more at: http://www.charismanews.com/us/49366-creationist-ken-ham-goes-toe-to-toe-with-arkansas-over-noah-s-ark#sthash.fqoeR6mR.dpuf
Will these headlines soon be filled with anti-Christian progress? (Flickr/Creative Commons)
Although fictitious, these imaginary headlines may be more fact than fiction if America continues to ignore the warning signs.
Mandatory Euthanasia Bill: What many call genocide, Congress calls necessary to curtail rising healthcare costs. In the hope of reclaiming financial stability, many legislators plan to sign a mandatory Euthanasia Bill. In defense of the Bill, some State Representatives claim that abortion has helped to offset rising healthcare costs. This new legislation will include those with terminal or chronic illnesses—life will be terminated when rehabilitation is uncertain, and/or when lingering illnesses threaten the economy. Those with extreme religious views, and the elderly, are also being considered.
Congress Lowers Age of Sexual Consent: Congress will vote later this year to lower the age of sexual consent to 12. Members have agreed to consider new research indicating that sex between children and adults may be beneficial. Although this new research is absurd and appears extremely problematic and biased, it may have prompted a trend in the lower Courts to assign convicted pedophiles lesser penalties such as community service, or rehabilitation, for committing lewd acts with children. This movement may explain why many judges now offer rehabilitation rather than imprisonment. Even though research confirms that punishment reduces crime, many appear eager to facilitate this new trend.
Same-sex Marriages Now Exceed Traditional Marriages In Some States: As a result, words such as "mom" and "dad" can no longer be used. Citizens must refer to parents as "partner 1" and "partner 2." Congress, however, is concerned that decreased birth rates will affect the nation's economy. In response, partners will be required to explore creative procreation options. Additionally, traditional families will be limited to two children. If couples fail to comply, infanticide may be considered.
Zero Tolerance for Christians: Homeland Security reports that Christianity is now under control. A recent poll indicates that fewer than 2 percent of the population report adhering to Christian beliefs and biblical absolutes. This decrease is attributed to a successful "Zero Tolerance" policy, which includes hate-speech legislation, outlawing use of the Bible, incarceration for Christians, heavy taxation on evangelical churches, and media scrutiny of anyone associated with the Christian faith. Additionally, many biblical terms dealing with marriage, sexual orientation, and family values are now identified as hate speech and cannot be used in public.
Again, although fictitious, these imaginary headlines may be more fact than fiction if America continues to reject God. "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap" (Gal. 6:7).
At the time of this writing, it is said that we live in the greatest country in the world, but the success we cherish is not the result of chance. Many early Americans understood that in order for a nation to thrive and prosper, God's Word must provide the basis for the government and the welfare of society. I'm not suggesting a theocracy, nor were the Founders, but I am suggesting a return to Judeo-Christian values. Just as water rapidly eroded the banks of the mighty Colorado River and created a vast Grand Canyon, America's current belief system (relativism) has eroded her foundation and created a moral void.
Interestingly enough, the stability of America is one of the top concerns on the minds of many today. There was a time in recent history when America felt secure knowing that the most formidable enemies were abroad. Not so today. While we are concerned with terrorist attacks, and rightly so, there is a greater threat from corruption within. There are people and groups who are strongly committed to the destruction of anything rooted in our nation's Christian heritage. They attempt to be "one nation 'above' God," rather than "one nation 'under' God." Scripture identifies this as foolishness, self-exaltation, and arrogance.
There is a saying that one generation plants trees for the next generation. I'm concerned that instead of planting, we are removing and destroying the very covering that protects us. For instance, most schools no longer teach students about the spiritual foundation that has guided America throughout her history. Consequently, America's moral and religious heritage is often deleted, grossly distorted, or revised altogether. This should concern us. The ideas of the classroom in one generation will create the ideas of government within the next.
Today, our culture promotes relativism, and man does what is right in his own eyes. According to Scripture, to his own destruction. God's Word says to confront, confess, and turn from our sins; relativism encourages us to ignore, overlook, and continue in them.
Although this position may seem radical or extreme, we are living in extremely critical times. Make no mistake about it: We are witnessing the rapid deterioration of a nation right before our eyes. But there is hope: 2 Chronicles 7:14 calls out from the past with resounding clarity to America today: "If My people will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land."
Let it not be said of us today: And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord (Judges 2:10). From the book, One Nation "Above" God at www.ShaneIdleman.net.
Pockets of true revival are breaking out across America. Want to know more about the next great move of God? Click here to see Jennifer LeClaire's new book, featuring Dutch Sheets, Reinhard Bonnke, Jonathan Cahn, Billy Graham and others.
Shane Idlemanis the founder and lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Lancaster, California, just North of Los Angeles. He recently released his 7th book, Desperate for More of God atshaneidleman.com. Shane's sermons, articles, books, and radio program can all be found atwcfav.org. Follow him on Facebook at:facebook.com/confusedchurch.
- See more at: http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/49352-america-is-ignoring-god-s-clear-warning-signs#sthash.TBm8ve47.dpuf
The American Attack on Christians Reaches an All-Time Low
The owners of Sweet Cakes were fined for not wanting to cater a same-sex wedding. (Courtesy/Samaritans Purse)
The recent events surrounding the court case against a Christian-owned bakery in Oregon are so surreal that they almost defy imagination.
The case itself has been well publicized.
In 2013, the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, Aaron and Melissa Klein, politely declined to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple, as a result of which they were taken to court and charged with discrimination based on sexual orientation.
On Friday, Oregon's Bureau of Labor recommended that the Kleins be fined a total of $135,000 to compensate "for the emotional suffering they [the lesbian couple] experienced."
Seriously?
Because a Christian couple cannot, in good conscience, bake a wedding cake for a homosexual couple, they are fined $135,000?
Let that sink in: $135,000 for not baking a cake.
What if Orthodox Jewish wedding photographers declined a job because it was on the Sabbath?
What if Muslim caterers declined a job because it required pork?
Would they be taken to court and fined?
What if Christian videographers declined a job because it required them to shoot a porn scene for a movie?
Would they be fined?
Yet these Christian bakers have not just been fined, they have been fined a ridiculous amount.
Really now, what kind of "emotional suffering" did the lesbian couple endure?
The women listed a total of 178 symptoms of their suffering—not 7 or 8 or even 17 or 18, but 178 symptoms—90 from one and 88 from the other.
As reported by Kelsey Harkness, "Examples of symptoms include 'acute loss of confidence,' 'doubt,' 'excessive sleep,' 'felt mentally raped, dirty and shameful,' 'high blood pressure,' 'impaired digestion,' 'loss of appetite,' 'migraine headaches,' 'pale and sick at home after work,' 'resumption of smoking habit,' 'shock,' 'stunned,' 'surprise,' 'uncertainty,' 'weight gain' and 'worry.'"
All this—and much, much more—simply because a Christian bakery said, "It's contrary to our religious beliefs to participate in a same-sex wedding ceremony."
Is it possible that these women were not exaggerating?
Yes it is.
But that doesn't mean that the Kleins should be fined $135,000. Instead, it means we should question the overall emotional stability of these two lesbians since it is almost impossible to believe that they really suffered all this simply because a Christian company said they could not participate in a lesbian "wedding."
Since coming to faith in Jesus as a Jewish teenager in 1971, I have often experienced rejection from the Jewish community. For example, a Jewish bookstore wouldn't sell books to my school, a Jewish educational service changed their phone numbers to shut me out once I subscribed to their phone-based teaching sessions, a religious Jewish man spat on my face while we talked on the train one day, also hurling my Hebrew Bible in anger, while others have simply turned their backs on me when I tried to address them.
So what?
We all get rejected and we all have people who don't like us and we sure don't come up with lists of 178 examples of our trauma when someone expresses their polite disagreement with something important to us.
Let's also remember that, before the courts ever ruled on the Kleins' case, the vicious, gay activist attack against them forced them to close their business, which means that the fine now levied against them would have to come out of whatever personal funds they have.
As Aaron Klein said, "The state is now saying that we can award damages above and beyond what you have already suffered ... and they have no qualms about doing this. It is really showing the state is taking a stance on absolutely obliterating somebody that takes a different stance than the state has."
What kind of totalitarianism is this? And how could this lesbian couple possibly think they were entitled to $135,000 in compensation, blaming this litany of 188 symptoms of emotional suffering on the Kleins?
This is beyond ludicrous.
But it gets worse and even more ludicrous.
On Friday, shortly after the fine was announced, an account for the Kleins was set up on GoFundMe, and in about 8 hours, more than $109,000 was raised for them. And then suddenly the page was taken down.
What happened?
According to Jay Richards, "A competitor of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, Lisa Watson of Cupcake Jones, contacted GoFundMe to alert the crowd-funding company that the Kleins had violated the terms of service," as a result of which they disabled the campaign.
This is what Watson wrote to GoFundMe: "This business has been found GUILTY OF DISCRIMINATION and is being allowed to fundraise to pay their penalty. The gofundme terms of service address hate speech, bigotry, criminal activity and sexism among other things in their campaign ... The amount of money they have raised in a matter of a few hours by thousands of anonymous cowards is disgusting."
What a ridiculous complaint, especially in its accusation that it was "anonymous cowards" who came forward to help the Kleins, deeming their actions "disgusting."
So today, you can't even stand with other Christians without being lambasted in the ugliest terms.
This is utterly appalling.
But it is even more appalling that GoFundMe agreed with her complaint and shut down the campaign, claiming that because Sweet Cakes had been found guilty by the court, raising funds for them would violate the GoFundMe terms of services. (Others have already pointed out that GoFundMe is being completely inconsistent in their actions here.)
Thankfully, Franklin Graham stepped forward and continued the campaign for the Kleins on his Samaritan's Purse website.
But this whole episode exposes the moral bankruptcy of the contemporary attack on Bible-believing Christians, first, with the state requiring the Kleins to violate their religious beliefs, second, by blaming them for a ridiculous list of traumas, third, by fining them such an exorbitant amount of money, and fourth, by shutting down the caring campaign meant to help them.
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Next week a group of 150 Jewish high school students will ride Jerusalem’s light rail while conversing only in Arabic. It is a noble initiative that has been poorly presented by some organizers and journalists giving the impression of overbearing racism in the Jewish state.
The event has been organized by the movement known as Tag Meir, established to combat those hate crimes perpetrated by Jews, primarily against Arabs. Over the past several years, there have been numerous occurrences of anti-Arab graffiti, and more recently a handful of violent attacks by Jews against Arabs and Druze have made headlines.
“We’ve decided to give Arabic speakers in Jerusalem visibility and even pride,” organizer Merav Livneh-Dill told The Times of Israel. “The goal is to allow Arabic to exist in the public sphere and legitimize those who want to speak it but are afraid to do so.”
After reaching the light rail’s final station at Mt. Herzl, the students will be joined by Education Ministry officials for a ceremony conducted in both Hebrew and Arabic.
While the initiative is itself positive and demonstrates, once again, that Israel is in fact not an apartheid state, it also runs the risk of misrepresenting the issue.
It is not as though Arabs in general are afraid to and refrain from speaking their language in Jewish-dominated areas.
The main Jerusalem shopping mall near my home is regularly filled with Arab shoppers speaking Arabic, and no one seems to mind.
Arab children playing and conversing in Arabic can be found at public parks across the city any given weekend, and no one seems to mind.
Just last week, a man sitting near me on the bus ride to my Jewish neighborhood was speaking Arabic loudly into his phone. He was clearly not fearful of doing so, and, again, none of the Jews round about us seemed to mind.
Initiatives like the above are a good thing, but should not be presented out of context. The majority of Israelis already have no problem with Arabs speaking Arabic in their midst, and the few extremists who do won’t be deterred by this demonstration, anyway.
PHOTO: Jews and Arabs ride Jerusalem's light rail together.
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Do you run to God for shelter, if even you don't agree with His wisdom? (Flickr)
I was going to a birthday party. Like any great Pappy, I stopped on the way to the partyto get my grandson, Elijah, a present for his first birthday.
He was at the age where he mimicked sounds. If you asked him, "What does a doggie say?" His reply was "Arf." How did he get to be so cute?
As I walked into the little toy area of a drug store, I spotted the perfect toy. A drug store doesn't have a really big toy section I found out. But here it was: a cute, fuzzy, battery-operated puppy. A long cord was attached to the toy, with a small box on the other end. It had two buttons on it, to make the doggie bark and walk. Now this was a cool toy! It was well worth the $5.99 price tag.
A little while later, when Elijah opened it, he was so excited. Because he is a little genius, he learned how to push the correct buttons very quickly. He pushed one to make the puppy bark and one to make it walk. It was by far his favorite gift and he dragged it with him everywhere.
However, as I watched him play with the toy, I became concerned about the cord that attached the doggie to the little control box. Several times Elijah got tangled up in the cord. My immediate fear was that he could be harmed if the cord wrapped around his neck. I dug the box out of the trash and read the outside. It said, "Recommended for 3+ years of age." Now I had a dilemma.
How could I take the toy away from the birthday boy? Simple. I waited until he took a nap, and I confiscated the dangerous toy. Protecting my grandson took precedence over his happiness with the toy. And the amazing thing is, he doesn't even know I protected him. He may never know. He, in fact, never missed the toy. But regardless of how he would react, his protection from harm and trouble was paramount in my mind.
In Psalm 32, David declares to the Lord: "You are my hiding place; You will preserve me from trouble; You will surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah" (v.7). Then in Psalm 61:7 he writes, "May he sit enthroned before God forever; oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him."
Dozens of times in the Psalms alone, David acknowledges God's protection. Make no mistake about it. The Lord God is our protector. He goes before us to make the crooked places straight. He is our rock, our fortress and our deliverer. His shield surrounds us. "The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble." (Ps. 9:9, emphasis added).
Please do not miss this: It is His love and faithfulness that protect us. Our happiness is not as important as our protection. His hand of protection is over us, even when we don't realize it.
For instance, we may have had a flat tire, and that may have protected us from danger ahead. Or perhaps we missed an appointment, but that protected us from a bad situation. Even a broken relationship that we simply did not understand may have been a means of protecting us from what was to come. If we walk in the Light of His Word, our way is protected. We are covered in perfect love and covenant faithfulness.
This week as you walk the path of your Christ journey, acknowledge His protection. Thank Him for it, even if it is not readily visible. Trust that your times are in His hands. Continue steadfastly, praying and believing. If you sense trouble coming, run into His shadow. Find refuge in Him as your stronghold.
The storms will blow. That is inevitable. Trials and temptations abound. Satan came to kill, steal and destroy. Remember this: Your protection is more important to your Heavenly Father than your happiness. Be strong and of good courage. The Lord your God is with you—everywhere you go. And you are protected; I promise.
Prayer Power for the Week of April 27
This week thank God every day that He is your hiding place and a refuge in times of trouble. Thank Him for His continual protection over you and your loved ones, and that He is with you everywhere you go. Remember the persecuted church around the world, and continue to pray for Israel's protection. Thank Him for His mercy on our nation and cry out for repentance and revival to spread across the land. Pray for unity among believers and for a release of concerted prayer for our national, state and local leaders, for a harvest of souls, and a return to honoring God as a nation and as individuals (Ps. 32:7; Ps. 9:9; 2 Chr. 7:14).
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