Do You Understand What You’re Reading?

May Bible Study

In Touch Ministries staff May 10, 2024

Legalese in paperwork, medical jargon on prescriptions, instructions for “easy-to-assemble” projects—our lives are filled with language we don’t understand. But someone does. It’s the job of lawyers, doctors, engineers, and other professionals to interpret technical information for us so we can use it to make good decisions and lead better lives. Often the real dilemma isn’t how to make sense of what we’re reading—that’s impossible for the untrained—but where to find someone who can help us. This was exactly the case for an Ethiopian traveling home from Jerusalem.

Illustration by Stephanie Wunderlich

BACKGROUND

With Saul ravaging the new church and imprisoning believers, Christians have scattered. Philip fled to Samaria, where his ministry was characterized by signs, miracles, and numerous converts. Hearing about his success, Peter and John traveled there to see what was happening. After a few days, the three headed back to Jerusalem, but along the way, Philip received special instructions from an angel.

READ

Acts 8:26-40

REFLECT

When the angel redirected his route, Philip must have anticipated there would be a special ministry opportunity waiting for him.

  • Philip’s work in Samaria (Acts 8:12-17) was an opportunity to minister to people who were not accepted in mainstream Jewish culture (John 4:9). Later, encountering a man from the royal court of the queen of Ethiopia, Philip found himself sharing the gospel with another outsider. The man was not only a foreigner but also a eunuch, which meant he’d never have been accepted into Judaism (Deuteronomy 23:1), even though he worshipped as a Jew. How do you think these two stories about Philip’s ministry are related? What do these encounters teach us about the way the early church spread?
  • Philip overheard the Ethiopian reading from Isaiah and asked if he understood the passage. What does it say about the man that he admitted he did not? List the qualities found in this story that are important for us to emulate as we read Scripture. Whom do you ask when you have questions about God’s Word?
  • How would you use Isaiah 53:7-8—the passage the man was reading and Philip used to explain Jesus—to present the gospel? What other Bible verses can you turn to?

CONTINUING THE STORY

Philip’s gospel message to the Ethiopian isn’t recorded in its entirety. Since the man eventually asked about baptism, it’s possible Philip included an exhortation similar to Peter’s after his sermon at Pentecost.

  • Read Acts 2:37-41. When you share the gospel with those around you, what appeal do you make? Is it hard to call others to repentance?
  • Rather than saying he wanted to be baptized, the Ethiopian man asked a question: “What prevents me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36). Why do you think he asked Philip this question? What answer do you think he expected?
  • Philip was “snatched away” and “found himself” at Azotus (vv. 39-40). What do you make of these phrases—a description of supernatural “teleportation” or of blind faith and prompt obedience? Or something else? What can we learn from his sudden departure, however it happened?

REFLECT

When his story picks up years later, Philip is settled in Caesarea with four daughters (Acts 21:8-9). In some ways, a domestic life by the sea seems a dramatic departure from his Spirit-led ministry in Samaria and on the road to Gaza.

  • What advantages might Philip have gained by settling in Caesarea? What dangers would he have faced? How might Philip’s experiences in both Samaria and Caesarea, and even earlier in Jerusalem, inspire us to a life of faithfulness?

https://www.intouch.org/read/articles/do-you-understand-what-youre-reading

Reflections on Motherhood

May 12, 2024 | Menagerie 

Updated from last year’s post

Motherhood. Contrary to ridiculous claims otherwise, it starts with being a woman. Which starts with XX chromosomes and can never be changed.

It didn’t take God long at all in his creation process to get to the male, female, mother, and father part. I can see nothing confusing in his words. From Genesis, Chapter 1:

And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness: and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth.  27 And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth…

So, I am a woman, a wife, a mother, a grandmother. A daughter, daughter in law, sister, sister in law.

My pronouns are not she/her. I am a she. I am a her. I am his wife. I am Mom. I am a grandmother to six boys and three girls.

I was never a birthing person and I’ll probably smack you with my cast iron skillet if you call me one.

In dignity and love we women were created unique and with tremendous life bringing gifts by God the Father. You know, the Creator who identified himself, among many other things, as Father. Which gave meaning to what being a man, and a father, and a woman, and a mother, would all come to mean.

My identity comes from God Eternal. Truth. Unchanging.

Ladies, congratulations. Your were gifted from the moment of your creation with a share in God’s own life giving creative abilities. Celebrate who and what you are. Celebrate life, femininity, nurturing, love, and the ability to pair colors and patterns, carry two squirming kids under two years old, five grocery bags, a purse and diaper bag, and open the door without letting the dog in or the cat out.

Celebrate that you loved a man, also created in God’s image, enough to create that most precious and endangered of things, a family. It doesn’t matter whether your family is yours by blood or by love. I have nine grandchildren. Four are genetically related to me, but nine are mine.

Your family, your children, your grandchildren, and everyone else’s are under attack. Your motherhood is one of the biggest weapons against the evil coming against us. You have influence, respect, opportunity, and abilities. Use them for good in word and deed, in action and prayer. In faith, in hope, in love.

As a mother you learned early on, I hope, that love requires hard choices. It is not best for your crying baby to be given something just to shut him up. Your cranky toddler shouldn’t get to watch TV just because. Don’t buy your kid a toy every time you’re in a store. Teach even your little kids to work, and take care of themselves, according to age and ability.

And for goodness’ sake moms, a subject near to my heart, don’t be overprotective of those kids, especially teens, and especially boys. Men and women are meant to do hard things. We have to be survivors, we have to endure hard times, no money, illness, loss of work, and political madness.

Failures and troubles of all kinds are going to come fast and hard at your kids. Your job is NOT to protect them to the best of your ability. It is to prepare them to survive those hard knocks and failures on their own.

Every single time you remove the burden from the shoulders of your sons and daughters and place it on your own, you lessen them. Every time you try to stop your husband from making the kids, again, especially the sons, do something you are afraid of and nervous about, you interfere with his duty and gift of fatherhood.

Boys especially need dads to show them how to be men. To my way of thinking, and evidenced by the crap going on in the world, we have a serious problem with manhood in this world. People can throw out all kinds of causes, from women’s lib gone wild to trans and gay advocates taking over the mindset of weak people, to lack of moral and religious teaching in the home. Lots of others, most valid to varying degrees.

But I submit to you that nothing is more damaging to kids, and especially to boys (cut me some slack here, I only had boys!) than a mother who undermines the strength, power, leadership, and resolve of the father of her children. Encourage him when he’s hard on them. Stand united against the whines.

I have one particular well loved grandson whose default mode right now is sing song whiney. Whenever he comes to visit and asks me for something, a treat, a special privilege, whatever, I never give him a yes until he asks with a strong whine free voice. I digress, but it’s a good example!

Make them do the hard things. Show them how, encourage, lead, push, shove, but don’t do it for them. Your job is to raise your kids to fly the coop on their own, as wise as youth can be, as strong and untested life can be at that first foray into the world. To do those things with hope, confidence, and the strength of doing things for themselves.

Never bail them out of failure. Cry your mama tears behind your bedroom door when they fail, but let them fail. And get back up. And fail.

I have come to believe that one of my most important jobs was letting go and not stopping my sons’ failures, just as much as celebrating their successes. It’s still sometimes hard to do that now that they are grown.

One of my sons recently made a comment about a boy’s failure at a certain undertaking. His observation was that the boy had done everything asked of him and nothing above that, which guaranteed his failure.

It was a very proud moment for my husband, and for me. That’s the kind of boy he was, and the kind of man he is, and the kind of father he is.

Each of my sons learned to do the hard things early on in life. One of them has three children, two with autism. He’s a wonderful and loving father to them, but he does not see their autism as an excuse for them to do less than every thing they are capable of, and then more.

Another other son refuses to abandon his step children in the face of barriers, blocks, and hardship after a divorce. Because he knows those kids need him more than ever, and he loves them. Lots of biological fathers would quit.

I am proud of my boys. They did not get those great strengths from a protected childhood. I could never have been that strong on my own. My husband taught me to let them fall, to let them hurt, to help but never do for them.

Although I never had the responsibility and blessing of having a daughter, I’d like to add something here about parenting girls as well. We now have a twelve year old granddaughter, and right now, that sometimes seems harder than raising all three sons! Hats off to all of you who have raised those stubborn, dramatic, hardheaded, beautiful young ladies.

Circumstances in our family, especially the autism of her two younger brothers, have us often involved in helping out with these three grandchildren, especially since I homeschool her brother.

As we strive to help her through pre-teen travails, I am also keeping in mind the examples of the many women I’m seeing today, and not liking it. At all. From the protestors on college campuses to the women who lead Ivy League schools, and those who are business leaders and politicians, I am not seeing much I feel good about in the news.

Many women seem to have lost their way, and further, for reasons I’m not wise enough to explain, society in general has let them drive the train full speed toward the cliffs too often. We parents and grandparents have a mighty task ahead of us, helping our precious girls find their gifts, strengths, kindness, and beauty in the midst of so many terrible examples and pressures.

Today, as we offer you heartfelt good wishes on this  Mother’s  Day, I tell you, your job isn’t done. Be strong, be an example, and encourage the young parents in your own family to do the hard things. A lot of things, most things, that are wrong in this world started with bad parenting. They need to be fixed the same way.

Almost every day here at the Treehouse people ask what they can do to fix the problems in our country specifically, and the world generally.

My own answer is to be the best mother and grandmother you can be. Just like childhood requires perseverance in the face of struggle and failure, so too does motherhood. Be strong. Be tough. Don’t quit.

You’ll never get the thanks and recognition you deserve and even if you did, you know that’s not what you want. You want the best of life and love and hope and eternity for your kids and family. Fortunately, you have a mighty, mighty power over the outcome. And you will, until the day you die.

The world needs you to use it.

Reflections on Motherhood

VIDEO How Dems Are ALREADY Stealing Votes in the 2024 Election – Witness Requirement Stays – Require Proof of US Citizenship to Register to Vote – Attorney Client Undercover Informant – Destroy Rule of Law, Disbar Attorney

KARI LAKE Drops a BOMB on Sunday Morning Futures – Exposes How Democrats Are ALREADY Stealing Votes in the 2024 Election (VIDEO)

By Jim Hoft May. 12, 2024

Kari Lakes explains how Democrats are going to steal illegal alien votes in the 2024 election.

Popular Arizona Senate Candidate Kari Lake joined Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures this morning.

During their discussion, Kari described how Joe Biden’s open border crisis is endangering every American. Kari pointed out that border ranchers are seeing 8-9 illegal alien “gotaways” every day on their land. These same ranchers saw 8-9 “gotaways” a year when Trump was in office!

Kari Lake then pivoted and described how Democrats are already stealing votes in the 2024 election.

Maria Bartiromo: As we report all the time, hundreds of people were already apprehended who were on the terrorist watchlist. Do you believe one of the motivations here is to get illegals, foreigners, to vote for the Democrats?

Kari Lake: Oh, absolutely. A 1,000%! Otherwise, they would be working hard to get the Save Act through, which will prevent that. Instead, in every state around the country, you’re seeing Democrats fight tooth and nail any piece of legislation which will prevent illegals from voting, which will solidify and codify that already existent law.

What they want, Maria, we’re not going to see all these people pouring across the border showing up at polling places. What they What they want is to have a line in the voters’ rolls so that somebody can vote for that person. That’s why they’re asking them to register to vote when they get set up for Medicare and Medicaid, because they’re giving them all of these services. They’re asking them to sign up to vote. Then they have a line in the voter roll, and somebody will vote under that name.

Kari is exactly right. Democrats are signing up illegals at the border – sharing their registrations with leftist groups – and these groups are ready to make sure someone votes for them in 2024.

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This is totally illegal and will likely destroy this country. But it is effective and Democrats lust for power above all else.

KARI LAKE Drops a BOMB on Sunday Morning Futures – Exposes How Democrats Are ALREADY Stealing Votes in the 2024 Election (VIDEO)

Republican Senator Mike Lee Discusses Bill That Would Require Proof of US Citizenship to Register to Vote (VIDEO)

By David Greyson May. 12, 2024 

Republican Senator Mike Lee was on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the SAVE Act, a congressional bill that would require proof of US citizenship to register to vote.

“Under Federal law, only citizens are allowed to vote in Federal elections. Here’s the tragic thing Maria, over the last 3, 3 and a half years, since the Biden administration has been in power, they have let in about 12 million illegal aliens,” Senator Lee said.

“The Supreme Court has interpreted it as prohibiting those at the state level who register people to vote from requiring the production of evidence of documents proving citizenship,” Senator Lee continued.

“What that means is that a person can fill out a form as long as they check the right box and sign their name, and are willing to lie, they can vote in Federal elections even if they are not citizens and they couldn’t prove it because they’re not citizens. The SAVE act would fix that loophole. It would make sure that actually, it is going to be American citizens voting in Federal elections,” Senator Lee continued.

Watch:

Senator Mike Lee’s concern for illegals and non-citizens voting is not unfounded. Under the Biden regime in the last 3 plus years, a shocking 10 to 12 million illegal aliens have invaded the United States.

That number equals about the population of 41 individual states.

Joe Biden himself even referred to illegal aliens as “voters.” The quicker the left can “legitimize” illegals to vote, the closer they will be to stealing another election.

The coordinated effort is most evident with the Department of Homeland Security ran by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Since the Biden regime was installed in 2021, he has intentionally kept the border open and refuses to take responsibility for the millions of illegals that have entered the US.

In February, Secretary Mayorkas was on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and clearly indicated that he was not responsible for the border crisis.

“Do you bear responsibility for what is happening at the border?” Kristin Welker asked.

“We don’t bear responsibility for a broken system,” Mayorkas continued.

Watch:

Republican Senator Mike Lee Discusses Bill That Would Require Proof of US Citizenship to Register to Vote (VIDEO)

Federal Judge Tosses Democratic-Funded Lawsuit to Remove Witness Requirement on Absentee Ballots

By Ben Kew May. 12, 2024

A federal judge in Wisconsin has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to remove the witness requirement on absentee ballots.

The lawsuit, filed by the law firm of Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, sought to cancel the witness requirement for voters who cast absentee ballots on the grounds that it violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In a scathing ruling, U.S. District Judge James Peterson said that the “demand simply does not make any sense.”

“Under plaintiffs’ interpretation, every witness would have to determine the voter’s age, residence, citizenship, criminal history, whether the voter is unable or unwilling to vote, whether the voter has voted at another location or is planning to do so, whether the voter is capable of understanding the objective of the voting process, whether the voter is under a guardianship, and, if so, whether a court has determined that the voter is competent,” he wrote.

The ruling was celebrated by Derek Lyons, president of Restore Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE), who described it as a failed attempt by liberal activists to undermine the ingrity of America’s electoral process.

Since its founding in 2022, RITE has been extremely active in Wisconsin and is proud to have made yet another contribution to the integrity of elections in that state,” Lyons said. “It’s essential that people voting by mail follow the law in doing so, and Wisconsin has implemented a witness signature requirement that helps ensure they do just that.

This case marks another example of liberal activists’ transparent and shameful efforts to co-opt important civil rights legislation for their partisan agendas. Sadly, it is all too clear that these activists are more interested in making unfounded accusations than in ensuring impartial and accurate elections.

Jason Snead, Executive Director of Honest Elections Project, similarly applauded the ruling:

A federal judge has officially thrown out a lawsuit filed by Left-wing attorney Marc Elias challenging a key election integrity provision requiring absentee ballot signature verification, exposing his radical legal strategy to flood the zone with dozens of frivolous lawsuits. The plaintiff’s theory in this case was yet another example of Elias and the left twisting old statutes to attack modern ballot safeguards.

In this case, they asked a court to conclude that requiring a witness signature on a mail ballot was illegal vouching under the Voting Rights Act. In the Jim Crow era, many places required a registered voter to vouch for the qualifications of a new voter in order to prevent African Americans from voting. Obviously, that law was not intended to prevent widely used election integrity measures for mail ballots. Fortunately, common sense prevailed, and an Obama-appointed judge agreed, wisely dismissing the case.

In simple terms, one might be forgiven for asking why Democrats want to remove the witness requirement unless they were seeking to subvert the system and carry out election fraud. Needless to say, that is exactly what they have in mind.

Federal Judge Tosses Democratic-Funded Lawsuit to Remove Witness Requirement on Absentee Ballots

Newly Unsealed Document Reveals Lawyer with Attorney-Client Privilege Relationship with Trump Proposed to Act as Undercover Informant in Jack Smith Classified Docs Case

By Cristina Laila May. 12, 2024

According to a newly unsealed defense motion related to search warrants against Walt Nauta, a lawyer with an attorney-client privilege relationship with President Trump proposed to act as an undercover informant in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents case.

Recall that Walt Nauta, a former White House employee and Navy veteran who worked valet for Trump and served as a personal staffer at Mar-a-Lago was indicted along with Trump last year.

According to the motion filed earlier this month, a lawyer for Trump was enlisted to act as an undercover informant/source in Jack Smith’s classified documents case.

“The affiants hid information about [redacted] who were acting as political enemies of President Trump, including one attorney who had an attorney-client privilege relationship with President Trump and then proposed to act in an undercover parallel role to [redacted].

The defense motion argued that the affiants “used attorney-client violations as the basis for evidentiary allegations, but the SCO cannot use information it gathers improperly to justify a search warrant, or as evidence against a third party.”

Cannon last Tuesday afternoon indefinitely postponed Jack Smith’s classified documents trial against Trump after the Special Counsel admitted to tampering with evidence.

Judge Cannon set a second set of pre-trial deadlines to manage pending discovery and disclosure matters.

The Judge vacated the May 20, 2024 trial date. It may be several months until Judge Cannon sets a new trial date.

“The Court also determines that finalization of a trial date at this juncture—before resolution of the myriad and interconnected pre-trial and CIPA issues remaining and forthcoming—would be imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions before the Court, critical CIPA issues, and additional pretrial and trial preparations necessary to present this case to a jury. The Court therefore vacates the current May 20, 2024, trial date (and associated calendar call), to be reset by separate order following resolution of the matters before the Court, consistent with Defendants’ right to due process and the public’s interest in the fair and efficient administration of justice,” Cannon wrote in an order reviewed by The Gateway Pundit.

Judge Cannon set hearings on key motions, including Walt Nauta’s motion to dismiss for selective and vindictive prosecution.

Additionally, a June 21 hearing was set on Trump’s motion to dismiss the indictment based on the unlawful appointment and funding of Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Stay tuned!

Newly Unsealed Document Reveals Lawyer with Attorney-Client Privilege Relationship with Trump Proposed to Act as Undercover Informant in Jack Smith Classified Docs Case

Bill Maher Destroys Credibility of Stormy Daniels’ Testimony on Sham Trump Lawsuit Following Release of Her 2018 Interview

caution for language

Destroying The Rule Of Law By Disbarring Attorney

DIANE L. GRUBER MAY 13, 2024

Stalin killed all the lawyers. Castro killed all the lawyers. Hitler killed all the lawyers. Pol Pot killed all the lawyers. Mao Zedong sent all the lawyers to work in the pig farms. Why? Because, after these dictators took over, the people had no rights, legal or otherwise, and they didn’t want lawyers giving them ideas, reminding them that, before the dictator destroyed the Rule of Law, the people HAD rights.

Under America’s legal system, the most heinous mass murderer is entitled to assistance by an experienced attorney who does his or her best to provide honest advice and representation. Indeed, the Rule of Law depends upon attorneys who give candid advice to their clients without worrying if they will be prosecuted or disbarred. One could assume that this form of “Kill The Lawyers” in America started with Democrats’ obsession with “Getting Trump.” Yes and no. While practicing law in Oregon, I first noticed this phenomenon starting in 2004. The Era of Trump merely put this method of persecuting Republicans and attorneys who oppose the Ruling Elite on steroids.

Last October, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law yet another way to persecute attorneys in that state.

DIANE MEETS JOHN EASTMAN

On Tuesday, I have the honor of meeting one of the persecuted Trump attorneys, John Eastman, when we will both be on Connecting The Dots with Dan Happel. This podcast originates in Montana. I don’t know where John will be during the podcast, but I will join them from Custer, South Dakota. John is no ordinary attorney. He started his career as a law clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas on the US Supreme Court. THAT alone places him head & shoulders above 99% of America’s attorneys.

If you are interested in learning more about this assault on the Rule of Law, you can go to danhappel.com website at 8 am Pacific Time, 9 am Mountain Time, 10 am Central Time or 11 am Eastern time on Tuesday morning, May 14th, and click on the Live-Stream button on the upper taskbar.  It only opens during the live podcast, so be patient. It will not open up until after the starting time.

Bush v Gore: Meet The Lawyer Who Wrote Gore’s Trial Memo

DIANE L. GRUBER

·

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

Bush v Gore: Meet The Lawyer Who Wrote Gore's Trial Memo

Meet Kenneth Chesebro, the brilliant lawyer who wrote the trial memorandum sent to the US Supreme Court, arguing on behalf of Democrat Presidential Candidate Al Gore in the Bush v Gore case* in 2000. He is now being prosecuted for writing a very similar memo

Read full story

AMERICA FIRST RE-IGNITED is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

https://dianelgruber.substack.com/p/destroying-the-rule-of-law-by-disbarring

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VIDEO Oklahoma Challenges Joe Biden’s Title IX Revisions: “One of the Most Radical and Illegal Moves We’ve Ever Seen from the Federal Government”

By Jim Hᴏft Apr. 27, 2024 

April Board Meeting Comments on Title IX (Screenshot: Superintendent Ryan Walters/Facebook)

Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters condemned President Joe Biden’s recent rewrite of Title IX, labeling it as “radical and illegal” and a direct assault on the rights of states, families, and specifically young women and girls.

The Biden regime proudly announced that women will be forced to allow men in their locker rooms and bathrooms with a new 1577-page Title IX ruling.

Women will be forced to compete against men and women will be forced to accept men on their sports teams.

And, as May Mailman, Director of Independent Women’s Law Center, notes, Title IX is not a college law.  This will impact girls as young as those in the Headstart program, geared to children from three to five-years old, those in daycare, and those in Kindergarten through 12th grade.

Young girls everywhere will be subject to the type of sexual exposure allegedly faced by the female athletes forced to share a locker room with trans swimmer Lia Thomas.

As Central Banks Stockpile Gold, a Christian Company Works To Help Americans Get Ahead of the “Retirement Bubble”

Preferred pronouns are also now mandated, and even the single use of the “wrong” pronoun can require discipline.

Title IX is now a thing of the past.

The new rules cement protections for L.G.B.T.Q. students under federal law. Additionally, it reverses Trump-era policies, including one that protects women by dictating how schools should respond to cases of alleged sexual misconduct in K-12 schools and college campuses.

Walters made it clear that Oklahoma does not intend to comply with the unconstitutional federal mandate.

“President Biden deciding to rewrite Title IX is one of the most radical and illegal moves we’ve ever seen from the federal government. It’s an attack on our states. It’s an attack on our families. And it’s an attack on our young women and girls. We will not stand for this in Oklahoma,” said Ryan Walters, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The new rules cement protections for L.G.B.T.Q. students under federal law. Additionally, it reverses Trump-era policies, including one that protects women by dictating how schools should respond to cases of alleged sexual misconduct in K-12 schools and college campuses.

Walters made it clear that Oklahoma does not intend to comply with the unconstitutional federal mandate.

“President Biden deciding to rewrite Title IX is one of the most radical and illegal moves we’ve ever seen from the federal government. It’s an attack on our states. It’s an attack on our families. And it’s an attack on our young women and girls. We will not stand for this in Oklahoma,” said Ryan Walters, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction.


“We’ve already heard back from a lot of districts that are very pleased that we stood in front of them in this dictate from the federal government. We’re very proud of our districts that are holding the line, and we will never allow Joe Biden to control our schools and indoctrinate our kids.”

“Our young girls deserve these experiences, and they shouldn’t have them ripped away from some activists in Washington, D.C., who want to use the power of the federal government to impose radical gender theory on our state. I will continue to keep you all updated as we continue to move swiftly and aggressively against this overreach.”

WATCH:

Oklahoma Challenges Joe Biden’s Title IX Revisions: “One of the Most Radical and Illegal Moves We’ve Ever Seen from the Federal Government”

Related

Five middle school girls who refused to compete against a male in shot put were just banned from all future competitions…

Reflecting on Godly Motherhood

by Cathe Laurie on May 11, 2024

The job description was for Director of Operations, and the requirements went as follows: Standing for hours on end. Unlimited work weeks. No vacations. Must be a skillful negotiator. Degrees in culinary arts, finance, and medicine helpful.

Oh, and by the way, there will be no paycheck.

Twenty-four people agreed to be recorded for an internet video interview, but as the requirements became clearer, there were no takers—not one. The comments made by some of the interviewees were:

“Is that even legal?”

“I think that’s a little intense . . . that’s crazy.”

“That’s cruel, inhumane.”

“Nobody’s doing that for free!”

It was a new video for a “fake position” created by the American Greetings card company for Mother’s Day. The job was fake, but the interviews were real. The video is excellent, and when it was posted it went viral.

The Pain and Joy of Motherhood

I watched it online and I laughed out loud. Then I wanted to cry. Because as the website states: “A mom’s impact is endless . . . so is her job description. It may be the world’s toughest job . . . but it provides the most extraordinary joy.”

I agree with that statement. OK, maybe not the part about it being the world’s toughest job. But I do happen to think they are getting pretty close to the mark. Even Jesus used mothers as an example when He looked for an analogy of suffering followed by joy:

“When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (John 16:21 ESV).

To be a mother is a call to suffer. It’s true.

  • A mother suffers when she brings a child into the world.
  • A mother suffers when her child gets sick.
  • A mother suffers when her child gets hurt.
  • A mother suffers when her child goes astray.
  • And perhaps hardest of all, a mother suffers when her child dies.

Godly Motherhood

It is a huge responsibility to parent a child. Not just at the beginning of life, but also in the middle, and at the end. Because being a mother never stops.

However, being a godly mother encompasses much, much more than suffering. There is the promise of hopeful, relentless joy in this life and in eternity. Inexpressible, incalculable, eternal joy. We may work like crazy women but we can always rest in the Lord and in His strength.

I want to say to all mothers out there, run this “mother race” with joy. Run with all your heart, mind, and strength. Run for the Lord, who entrusted His children to you. Run for those children, that they may see your love and commitment to them. Run. Run. Run this race like your clothes are on fire! All Heaven wants to cheer you on as you look toward the prize of hearing the Lord say, “Well done!” And I want to cheer you on too!

Thank You, Moms and Mother Figures

But first, to our moms, we say thank you. We want to honor you for the things you’ve done. For the countless things that we selfishly never took notice of.

To those who may not have been our mothers, but who functioned like mothers and taught us by words and godly examples, hats off to you too! You are “mothers in the faith.” You cared, mentored, and prayed for us—to you we say thank you as well.

Rid of the Extra Baggage, Moms!

And to the rest of us moms in the trenches, let’s cast off the weight of comparing ourselves to each other, or to standards that are in vogue for about a minute. Cast off the weight of always having to have a perfect house and homemade bread dough rising on our spotless counters. Chill out about Instagram and reading mommy blogs and Pinterest. If these things help us, great! If they stress us out, frustrate, and whittle away precious time, let them go!

In doing so, we will free up more time and energy for important matters: God, family, and modeling love and holy living. Let’s run this race for the ultimate prize, forget what is behind, cast off the weights, and go for it—because this race is best run when we are fit and fleet.

That makes this mother and grandmother want to turn off the laptop, smartphone, TV, and leap off the couch. We only have this moment, and who knows for how long it will be ours? Carpe diem.

—

Learn more about Cathe Laurie

Originally published on Higher Ground

Reflecting on Godly Motherhood (by Cathe Laurie)

Mother’s Day: “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother!” Lincoln

May 10, 2024 • Bill Federer

Listen (text to speech)

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After the Civil War, abolitionist Julia Ward Howe, writer of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic, led a Mother’s Day for Peace in New York on June 2, 1872, to promote peace, national healing and reconciliation.

She composed a proclamation to “appeal to womanhood throughout the world.”

Julia Ward Howe personally sponsored a Mothers’ Day celebration in Boston for the next ten years till interest dwindled.

In the following decades, Protestant churches and schools observed Decision Day for committing to Christ, Roll Call Day for church membership, Missionary Day, Temperance Sunday, and Children’s Day.

Numerous efforts arose for observing a Mother’s Day.

Taking the day from a suggestion to a reality was Anna Jarvis.

She is the person most responsible for making Mother’s Day a nationally observed event.

Anna was from Grafton, West Virginia, the granddaughter of a Baptist minister.

She was a member of Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, where she taught Sunday school.

In 1876, after one of her Bible lessons, Anna Jarvis closed with a prayer:

“I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mothers day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it.”

Similar to Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, Anna Jarvis’ mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis, worked during the Civil War to organize Mothers’ Day Work Clubs to care for wounded soldiers, both Union and Confederate.

Anna’s mother raised money for medicine, inspected bottled milk, and improved sanitation.

She arranged in 1868 a “Mother’s Friendship Day” — “to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War.”

She hired women to care for families where mothers suffered from tuberculosis.

Anna Jarvis’ mother died on May 9, 1905.

Inspired by her mother’s self-sacrifice and generosity, Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her and all mothers.

On May 12, 1907, Anna persuaded her church, Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, to have a small Mother’s Day service.

The church then agreed to set aside every year the 2nd Sunday in May, the anniversary of her mother’s death, as a day to show appreciation to all mothers — the makers of the home.

The next year, May 10, 1908, Anna organized a Mother’s Day event in two places:

  • Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, where she sent a telegram; and
  • in Philadelphia, where she gave a moving speech in the auditorium of the 12-story Wanamaker Department Store.

John Wanamaker was a retail pioneer and founder of one the first department stores.

Wanamaker, who had paintings of Christ throughout his store, stated:

“There is a power in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep uppermost the profound conviction that it is the Gospel that is to win the heart and convert the world.

The things that were sweet dreams in our childhood are now being worked out. The procession is being made longer and longer; the letters of Christ’s name are becoming larger and larger.”

With the financial backing of John Wanamaker and H.J. Heinz, maker of “57 varieties” of ketchup, Anna Jarvis began a letter-writing campaign to ministers and politicians to establish a “national” Mothers’ Day.

In support of honoring motherhood was University of Notre Dame’s first athletic director, Frank Hering.

In 1904, Hering observed a Notre Dame professor passing out penny postcards to students, with the instructions to write:

“Anything. Anything at all as long as it’s to their mothers. We do this every month in this class. One day a month is mother’s day.”

Hering proposed “setting aside one day in the year as a nationwide memorial to the memories of mothers and motherhood,” stating:

“Throughout history the great men of the world have given their credit for their achievements to their mothers. The Holy Church recognizes this, as does Notre Dame.”

Due to the overwhelming support of pastors and churches, by 1909, forty-five states observed Mother’s Day.

People wore white and red Carnations on Sunday to pay tribute to their mothers.

On May 8, 1914, Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first National Mothers’ Day as a:

“public expression of … love and reverence for the mothers of our country.”

President Reagan said in his Mother’s Day Proclamation, 1986:

“A Jewish saying sums it up: ‘God could not be everywhere – so He created mothers.'”

English Poet Robert Browning wrote:

“Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.”

Mothers have the role of imparting values into children, as American poet William Ross Wallace wrote:

“The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”

Dr. James Dobson addressed the National Religious Broadcasters, Feb. 16, 2002:

“If they can get control of children … they can change the whole culture in one generation.”

This was echoed by historians Will and Ariel Durant in The Lessons of History, 1968:

“Civilization is not inherited; it has to be learned and earned by each generation anew;

if the transmission should be interrupted … civilization would die, and we should be savages again.”

On February 3, 1983, at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, President Ronald Reagan stated:

“I have a very special old Bible.

And alongside a verse in the Second Book of Chronicles there are some words, handwritten, very faded by now.

And believe me, the person who wrote these words was an authority. Her name was Nelle Wilson Reagan. She was my mother.”

Reagan stated:

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.

We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream.

It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

Quotes by unknown authors are:

“Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.”

“A mom’s hug lasts long after she lets go.”

On Mother’s Day, May 8, 2020, President Donald J. Trump proclaimed:

“We celebrate the exceptional mothers in our lives …

Whether they became mothers through birth, adoption, foster care, or other means, these women are deserving of our unending gratitude and praise this day and every day.

The intuition and wisdom passed from mother to child strengthens the fabric of our Nation and preserves generations of wisdom and familial values.

In our earliest days, our mothers provide us with love and nurturing care.

They often know our talents before we do, and they selflessly encourage us to use these God-given gifts to pursue our biggest dreams …

I encourage all Americans to express their love and respect for their mothers … whether with us in person or in spirit, and to reflect on the importance of motherhood to the prosperity of our families, communities, and Nation.”

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy (2 Timothy 1:5):

“I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”

Abraham Lincoln’s mother, Nancy, died with he was nine years old.

The Life of Abraham Lincoln, by J. G. Holland (Springfield, IL, Gurdon Bill, 1866) recorded:

“(Lincoln’s father Thomas) … married Nancy Hanks in 1806 …

He took her to the humble cabin he had prepared for her … and within the first few years of her married life, she bore him three children.

The first was a daughter named Sarah, who … died … the third was a son (Thomas) who died in infancy.

The second was Abraham, who, born into the humblest abode, under the humblest circumstances … under the blessing of a Providence which he always recognized …

Mrs. Lincoln, the mother, was evidently a woman out of place among those primitive surroundings.

She was five feet, five inches high, a slender, pale, sad and sensitive woman, with much in her nature that was truly heroic.”

Holland’s The Life of Abraham Lincoln (1866) continued:

“Those who knew the tender and reverent spirit of Abraham Lincoln later in life, will not doubt that he returned to his cabin-home deeply impressed by all that he had heard. It was the rounding up for him of the influences of a Christian mother’s life and teachings.

It recalled her sweet and patient example, her assiduous efforts to inspire him with pure and noble motives, her simple instructions in divine truth, her devoted love for him, and the motherly offices she had rendered him during all his tender years.

His character was planted … by this Christian mother’s love.”

The Life of Abraham Lincoln (1866) recounted:

“Providence began at his mother’s knee, and ran like a thread of gold through all the inner experiences of his life ….

A great man never drew his infant life from a purer or more womanly bosom than her own; and Mr. Lincoln always looked back to her with an unspeakable affection.

Long after her sensitive heart and weary hands had crumbled into dust … he said to a friend, with tears in his eyes: ‘All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother!'”

Lincoln wrote:

“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.”

—

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Image Credits: Public Domain; William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905): Admiration maternelle ‘Maternal Admiration’; Date: 1869;  wikidata:Q106763455 reasonator:Q106763455 Blue pencil.svg wikidata:Q483992 q:en ; Collection: Private collection; References: William Bouguereau: His Life and Works, 1869/08 ;
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https://americanminute.com/blogs/todays-american-minute/mothers-day-all-that-i-am-or-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother-lincoln-american-minute-with-bill-federer

A Worthwhile Reminder When Anyone Talks About Trust in U.S. Government

May 11, 2024 | Sundance 

This well assembled video is recirculating as a reminder of what took place during the media hype of the COVID-19 alarmism. It’s easy to forget just how crazy and insane the lying and manipulation actually was; this video captures only a small element of the demanded narrative.

When anyone asks a question about why so many Americans no longer trust institutions or U.S. government leadership, the issues within this video serve as a mic drop. Watch and be reminded:

These same media voices demanded everyone accept the fraud of the Trump-Russia narrative; then these same voices demanded we ignore the truth of the Hunter Biden laptop; then these same voices demanded again that we adhere to their untested vaccine position; and now they demand we pay attention to their narrative around the fraudulent Lawfare cases against President Trump.

The crazy never ends…

The professional political leftists are starting to rebrand themselves as having fallen victim to the “bureaucracy of COVID”, and according to those high-minded people who think very highly of themselves, we are supposed to embrace this new enlightenment from the same people who were demanding our acquiescence to their dictates and sneering at those who did not comply.

I/We are expected to appreciate the same people who demanded our acquiescence to every policy that was created by their ridiculous fear, simply because they now admit ‘oops, my bad‘?   Sorry, not happening.

For two years they shoved their intolerant fingers in our faces, destroyed lives and livelihoods, made ridiculous demands in order to sustain their own fear, threatened our children, destroyed the economy, used COVID as an excuse to destroy families and steal an election, attempted to force us to kneel at the altar of their mask wearing and never-ending vaccine crap, took our jobs if we refused their mandates… and we’re just supposed to what, forgive them?

I want, heck, need, to see these people destroyed with the heat of a thousand supernovas.

The vulgar lies and verbal filth have been extreme for almost eight years as these ideological parasites utilize their microphones and typeset in a brutal attempt to tear down our nation.

We have all been witness.

Anyone trying to convince us this assembly of our union is not tenuous might want to revisit their proximity to reason, because they’re not just out of the city – they’re also out of the same state the ballpark is located in.

David Mamet had a famous saying; I repeat it often because it helps people break the cycle of abuse.   Essentially: …‘in order for democrats, liberals, progressives et al to continue their illogical belief systems they have to pretend not to know a lot of things’…

By pretending ‘not to know’, the professional left carries no guilt, no actual connection to conscience.  Denial of truth allows easier trespass, and that is exactly what the professional left do in a repeating cycle.

This hate-filled Democrat, leftist and social ideology relies on our willingness to reconcile their presentations and grant benefit within their seeds of doubt.

Sorry, forgiveness is now for the next generation…. 

We need to destroy those who carried out this abuse.

Our parents were forced to die alone in isolation while we were forbidden from holding their hand or being with them.

Thousands never had the opportunity to say goodbye.

We know exactly what the covenant of marriage is all about; and it has nothing to do with being forced to stand outside hospitals, screaming in unbearable choking anguish, while our wives and husbands took their last breaths…. ALONE!

You want forgiveness for that?

I do not possess that capacity.

I refuse to give any “coming to the right side” credit to the vile, intolerant, hate-filled and insane leftists who demanded all the totalitarian bulls**t they now accept as futile nonsense.

The leftists should be shunned, mocked and cast into the pit of irrelevance.  Make Shame Great Again.

Additionally, the high-minded, reach-across-the-aisle crew can continue bleating philosophically about how we must grow our ranks by accepting the newly found recalcitrance of those who have carried out this nonsense.  However, the constant granting of benefit to those who abuse us is the epitome of battered conservative syndrome.

You cull a herd for a reason.

You do not demand the herd lower its genetic strength to accommodate the weakest denominator.

Professional apologists for the right wing of the UniParty can keep trying to make the big government vulture a better sandwich in the hopes that eventually it will stop abusing us.  Meanwhile, prudent people, those slow to anger but resolute upon arrival, accept the leftists and Democrats for who they are, toxic abusers’ intent on destroying the liberty and freedom the aisle-reachers claim to cherish.

The professional political left would like nothing more than their victims to be comfortable forgiving them for their openly hostile attacks. Within that dynamic, the abuser is free to repeat the cycle, and make no mistake – they will repeat the cycle, eventually.

Actions have consequences.  We are not fast to the sentiment of hate; we know the damage that sensibility can create within oneself.  However, eventually, reluctantly, decisions are reached.

Those who perpetrated the eight years of hell need to be held to account, and unfortunately, this type of accountability is so severe in consequence there can be no quarter provided or terms which might provide even the most remote possibility of a reoccurrence.

It is uncomfortable to accept that our response needs to be of such severity that our children will be witness to a visible cold anger they did not know their parents were capable of.  But witness they must if we are to ensure these vile and intolerant leftist creatures are destroyed forever.

I would rather provide the opportunity for my children to forgive me, than to see them forever living in a hopeless land of totalitarianism where freedom and liberty have been dispatched from their lives.  At least in the former their choice is possible.

The professional political left must be destroyed with extreme prejudice.

A shield, or cry of micro-aggression should be given no benefit, nor quarter. Delicate sensibilities must be dispatched like a feather in a hurricane.

Americans are still tolerant and patient people, the most compassionate and generous people in the history of all mankind, but we are also very purposeful.

The professional political left could have stopped with us, but they did not.  Instead, they came for our children.

You see, when pushed far enough, hard decisions are reached. And they have pushed us much further than simply ‘far enough‘.  Yet, they wonder why the support for President Trump increases the more they attack him.

They really are stupid people.

Stupid people with power.

A Worthwhile Reminder When Anyone Talks About Trust in U.S. Government

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AUDIO Mother of James and John

Rev Bill Woods

Matthew 20:20-23—ESV—Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”  He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

Mothers are teachers, disciplinarians, cleaning ladies, gardeners, and lawn mowers.                                                                           

Most moms understand baking cookies is more important than washing windows, too.

A mom is a nurse, doctor, psychologist, counselor, chauffeur, coach, developer of personalities, molder of vocabularies, and a shaper of attitudes.                                                                           

Mothers are soft voices saying, “I love you.”  Mothers are a child’s 1st impression of God’s love.

Mothers are all of these things & much, much more.

Erma Bombeck said the day God created mothers He’d already worked long overtime.                                                                                   

An angel said, “Lord, you’re sure spending a lot of time on this one.”

God said, “Have you read the specs on this model? She’s to be completely washable, but not plastic. She’s to have 180 moving parts, all of them replaceable. She’s to have a kiss that’ll heal everything from a broken leg to a broken heart. She’s to have a lap that’ll disappear whenever she stands up. She’s to be able to function on black coffee & leftovers. And she’s supposed to have 6 pairs of hands.”

“6 pairs of hands,” said the angel, “that’s impossible.” “It’s not the 6 pairs of hands that bother me.” God said, “It’s the 3 pairs of eyes. She’s supposed to have one pair that sees through closed doors so that whenever she says, `What are you kids doing in there?’ she already knows what they’re doing in there.”

“She has another pair in the back of her head to see all the things she’s not supposed to see but must see. And then she has one pair right in front that can look at a child that just goofed & communicate love & understanding without saying a word.”

“That’s too much.” the angel said, “You can’t put that much in one model. Why don’t you rest for a while & resume your creating tomorrow?”

“No, I can’t,” said the Lord. “I’m close to creating someone very much like Myself. I’ve already come up with a model who can heal herself when she’s sick – who can feed a family of 6 with one pound of hamburger – & who can persuade a 9-year-old to take a shower.”

The angel looked at the model of motherhood more closely & said, “She’s too soft.”                    

“Oh, but she’s tough,” said the Lord. “You’d be surprised how much this mother can do.”

  “Can she think?” the angel asked. “Not only can she think — she can reason & compromise & persuade.”

  The angel touched her cheek. “This one has a leak,” he said. “I told you that you couldn’t put that much in one model.” “That’s not a leak,” God said. “That’s a tear.”

“What’s a tear for?” asked the angel. “It’s for joy, for sadness, for sorrow, for disappointment, for pride.” “You’re a genius,” said the angel. And the Lord said, “Oh, but I didn’t put it there.”

Knowing this we can better understand Mrs. Zebedee, James & John’s mom —

Matt. 20:20-23 — Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”  He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

Mrs. Zebedee knew what Jesus said about His kingdom. She knew her boys were among His closest friends. They were 2/3’s of the inner circle — Peter, James, & John.

When Jesus formed His kingdom, she wanted them to have responsibility and authority.

At the beginning of this chapter, Jesus told a story that must’ve disturbed her.

A landowner went to find laborers early in the morning. They agreed upon a fair day’s wage & started working. At noon he found more workers, and they started working. Towards evening he found more workers & they started working.                                                                                  

When the Lord paid them at the end of the day they all received the same wage.

Mrs. Zebedee must’ve wondered, “Will James and John really have positions of authority in Jesus’ kingdom?”

  She asked Jesus for a favor, “When you establish your kingdom, I’d like my 2 sons to have seats on your right & left hand.”

  What?  What a presumptuous old lady! 

Since it’s Mother’s Day, maybe we should think some positive things about Mrs. Zebedee.

Notice, when she came to Jesus, while Jesus didn’t grant her request, neither did He deny it. 

He reminded her of the cost of being seated on the right or left and told her the Father decides who sits there.

1. SHE PRAYED HER SONS MIGHT BE A PART OF THE KINGDOM.

There are some good things about Mrs. Zebedee?                                                                        

1st, she prayed to Jesus that her sons would be a part of His Kingdom.

There’s not a more important job for a mother than to pray that your children are part of the Kingdom of God.

  Many mothers pray. Sometimes out of necessity. Sometimes because being a mom isn’t easy, but extremely difficult.

                                                                                                                                                                   Dr. Dobson told of coming home when their son, Ryan, was a baby.                                                                        

It had been a terrible day for his wife. Ryan had been sick and had cried all day long.

She was changing his diapers, the telephone rang — Shirley reached to answer it before fastening his diapers.  Just then Ryan had an attack of diarrhea.

She cleaned up that mess and put him in clean, sweet-smelling clothes. Then she fed him. As she was burping him, he threw up all over her, & the couch.

Dobson said, “When I came home, I could smell the aroma of motherhood everywhere.” Shirley cried out to him, “Was all of this in my contract?”

Sometimes mothers pray out of the frustration.                                                                  

Sometimes in the frustration of trying to teach our children we realize the difficulties of communication.

A man told his 2-year-old son to watch his baby sister Susan, while he stepped out of the room. He’d been gone a few moments when he heard a thump, & Susan started crying.

He rushed in to find Susan had fallen off the couch and sprawled on the floor.                                   

The son sat there, looking so innocent.

The dad said, “I told you to watch her.”  The boy said, “I did.”                                                    

He watched her fall; he watched her cry.  He did exactly what he was told to do.                

Parenting isn’t easy. Sometimes there’s joy & sometimes there’s sadness. Sometimes your children make you proud. Other times you can’t find enough handkerchiefs to dry your tears.

What good is it if your children are successful in making money, driving fine cars, and living in good neighborhoods, but don’t know God?

Matthew 16:26–For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?  

 Being a parent isn’t easy, but Mrs. Zebedee gave a great example, for she prayed her sons would be a part of Christ’s Kingdom.

We need that burden for our children!

I hope every mother, and father listening to this podcast has a burden to pray for your children to be saved from eternal damnation and saved for eternal life.

2. SHE PRAYED HER SONS WOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF HIS KINGDOM

2nd, not only did Mrs. Zebedee pray her children would be a part of His kingdom, but she prayed they’d be actively involved in the work of His kingdom — It’s not enough just to be saved.

Churches are full of people just wanting to fill a pew on Sunday mornings. Plenty of people are willing to sit back and soak in the blessings, but seldom get involved in doing the real work of the church.

Where does the spirit of service begin?

It begins at home, with moms and dads setting the example and praying their children will get involved in the work of the kingdom — hoping they might be the ones to reach the lost — to see the church continue until Jesus comes again.

Mrs. Zebedee prayed her boys would be actively involved in the work of God’s kingdom.  We need that too.

3. MRS. ZEBEDEE HAD BIG EXPECTATIONS!

She didn’t just pray her boys would be doorkeepers. She wanted them on the right hand & left hand of Jesus.

There is no higher positions than to be on the right & left of the King himself — that’s what she wanted for her sons.

We accuse Mrs. Zebedee of being brash & presumptuous.

I admire her boldness. Too often we settle for mediocrity in the church. We’re content with just barely making it through the door — to sit back and just watch things happen.

It’s time we took our positions as leaders — molding & fashioning the outreach of the church — making sure Christ’s message goes into all the world.

It’s time to strive for excellence — to reach the very best there is. Jesus calls us to be His disciples — to be effective laborers in His kingdom.

Remember Erma Bombeck had God saying as He created a mother, “I am close to creating something very much like myself.”

 That’s why today is special – because a mother’s love is probably the closest example we have to God’s love.

It’s a love that goes through the valley of the shadow of death to bring life into being. It’s a love that sacrifices over and over again and would even lay down its life for its young.

A story from WW 2 and the holocaust:

  Solomon Rosenberg, his wife, 2 sons and his mother and father were arrested and put in a Nazi concentration labor camp.  The rules were simple. “As long as you can work, you’re permitted to live. When you’re too weak to work, you’re exterminated.”

 Rosenberg watched his parents marched off to their deaths, and knew his youngest son, David, would be next because David was a frail child.

Every evening Rosenberg came back into the barracks after his labor & searched for the faces of his family. When he found them, they’d huddle together, embrace, and thank God for another day of life.

One day Rosenberg didn’t see those familiar faces.

He found his oldest son, Joshua, in a corner, huddled, weeping, & praying. He said, “Josh, tell me it’s not true.” Joshua turned & said, “It’s true, poppa. Today David wasn’t strong enough to do his work. They came for him.”

“Where’s your mother?” asked Mr. Rosenberg. “Oh poppa, when they came for David, he was afraid and cried. Momma said, `There’s nothing to be afraid of, David,’ and she took his hand & went with him.”

 That’s motherhood. Mothers, this is your day.  God bless you.                                                           

I pray if you’ve never experienced the love of God that’s so close to the love of a mother, this will be your day of decision.

If you’ve had to walk through that valley alone so many times, you’ll see a hand reaching out saying, “There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’ll go with you.”

Psalm 23:4 — Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

PODCAST MOTHER OF JAMES AND JOHN

https://www.buzzsprout.com/824359/15051240

There is Still Power in the Blood

Don’t believe in the Devil?

That’s exactly where Satin wants you.

He and his demonic hosts are working hard to deceive you because he knows his time is running out and he will soon be cast into the bottomless pit.

One pastor told me to leave Satin alone because “If we leave him alone will leave us alone.” 

That’s dumb because he doesn’t intend to leave you or your family alone. You must learn how to stand against him. 

In this book you will find how:

-Demons enter in the first place.

-How to be set free from demonic bondage.

-How to stay free.

-Pit falls Satin hopes you will fall into so he can destroy you and your family.

-How to have a close walk with Jesus Christ and enjoy victory in your life. 

Remember: THERE IS STILL POWER IN THE BLOOD!

https://www.churchofthegalilean.com/product-page/there-is-still-power-in-the-blood

How to Be Still in the 21st Century

Illustration by Hokyoung Kim

There’s more than one way to grow in your relationship with God.

Kimberly Coyle April 21, 2024

By mid-morning last Fourth of July weekend, the beach was already packed with sunbathers, multi-generational families, pop-up sun canopies, and dueling radios. I sighed when I took in this colorful, sunburnt sea of humanity. We hadn’t planned on a beach vacation this year, but two medical emergencies kept us close to home on the busiest week of the summer season. We thought the familiarity of our favorite beach town with easy access to our family would be a reliable, restful solution between hospital visits.

Instead, we found ourselves overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people that weekend. I gave up on my book our first day on the beach, after being unable to ignore the group blaring a sports radio commentary. I looked at the ocean and watched unusually rough waves tumble toward the shore. Suddenly, jet skiers in red bathing suits arrived holding buoys. They skimmed the surface at full speed while heading for the swimming area at our beach. Within minutes, a truck full of lifeguards navigated the crowded knots of sunbathers and drove to the edge of the water. A siren-blasting EMS vehicle arrived soon after.

In all the commotion, most of us stood to watch the rescue unfold. My heart raced as I silently prayed for a happy outcome, even though I stood too far away to see the activity clearly. After 15 minutes, I breathed a sigh of relief as the responders slowly started to dissipate. The truck and EMS vehicle finally drove off, and the lifeguards on jet skis circled each other in conversation before slipping away in a stream of foam. I later read a news report stating that lifeguards made over 100 rescues that weekend. The crises were due to a combination of rough conditions and inexperienced or tired swimmers who ventured into deep waters without the stamina to stay.

Every time I visit the ocean, I think of my former pastor, who used to say that being in relationship with God is like standing on the beach where there is both the safety of the shore and the unpredictability of the ocean. He explained that some of us are sitting on the shore, some of us have a toe dipped in the surf, and others of us are treading water where it’s too deep to touch bottom. But as believers, all of us are making our way with God, no matter where we sit, stand, or swim. He said this in response to Christians who lean toward judging the apparent strength or weakness of others’ relationship with God, based on the way they practice their faith. It’s not our place to determine how “spiritual” someone else is, according to what we consider progress.

It’s not our place to determine how “spiritual” someone else is, according to what we consider progress.

I love this imagery because it allows for freedom of movement in all directions. Our relationship with God over a lifetime isn’t static, nor will it move in a straight line or a single direction. Deep waters can feel perilous in seasons of hardship or suffering, but God does not leave us alone there. At times, we may need a friend, a spiritual practice, or a lifeline of some sort to help guide us, breathless and waterlogged, back to shore. We have freedom to move as needed to regain our equilibrium and catch our breath, and we can enter the water again when we feel energized and it seems safe to do so. There’s no condemnation for wherever we are in that process. This picture of relationship with God has been particularly freeing to me over the past few years.

As I stood on the shore last July 4th, another beach trip came to mind. A friend and I had traveled to Miami years earlier for a weekend getaway in the spring. It was too cool for us to swim, despite many other swimmers braving the water, so we waded only up to our shins before sitting in chairs to chat. From the corner of my eye, I spotted a crowd of people running along the shoreline from our right. They shouted and waved their hands wildly for the swimmers to get out of the water. Moving closer to understand their shouts and gesticulations, we saw swimmers running to the shore as a shark’s fin broke the surface of the shallow water.

To our left, a single swimmer in a pink donut-shaped floatie bobbed, oblivious to the shouts. His escape route to shore was directly in the path of the shark, but he had his back to the danger and his eyes on the horizon. He finally turned and saw the crowd calling him to safety. I have never seen a grown man tumble out of a floatie so fast and swim, stumble, leap to shore. He gasped for air when he emerged from the water as a fin cut through the waves where he’d just been floating.

Our relationship with God over a lifetime isn’t static, nor will it move in a straight line or a single direction. 

I recalled more than anything how he moved from oblivious to terrified in a matter of seconds. It galvanized him to move, to do something. The past few years I have dealt with anxiety unlike anything I’ve experienced before. If you’d asked me five years ago, I would have said I was comfortable floating in the deep in relationship with God. But when life became unbearably hard, when sharks circled in the waters of my life, I needed to exit the water. I needed to come away from the waves and the creatures that silently arrived without my permission.

I didn’t walk away from my relationship with God, of course, but I knew that in order to heal, the way I approached our relationship needed to look different. I needed a chair on the beach in the sunshine, not a pink floatie in the rollicking waves of the ocean, with its undertow and unknowns. I needed a place where Jesus and I could just be. I found myself at a point where my standard spiritual practices couldn’t sustain me, and I wondered how to authentically meet God in this season of deep suffering. The usual forms of prayer and worship failed me, and I stepped away from attending church for a long season. Instead, I joined a spiritual formation program that met for online retreats monthly. I listened to children’s lullabies based on Scripture. I experienced God’s love through contemplative and imaginative prayer, prayer journaling, and an online Scripture meditation group populated by women of faith in their 70s. 

I’ve continued these practices even as life stabilized, because they have been a source of deep healing. They’ve drawn me into God’s love in a gentle, restful, and hopeful way that was foreign to me in my former faith habits. I’m sure some have questioned my commitment to God as I’ve seemingly pulled away from traditional practices, but where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. I’ve been patient with myself, and in time I began to feel a soft ache that led me to consider church again. This past year, I visited a local congregation outside of my previous denomination. The services are quiet, liturgical, with only a handful of elderly parishioners present. Beautiful wood beams create an arch in the ceiling of the sanctuary, and every time I visit, they remind me of the drawings of Noah’s Ark in my childhood Bible. The church feels safe and rooted in a way that compels me to return. It reminds me that I don’t have to tread water until the rescue crew shows up. I can heed the inner voice calling me to the rest and safety of the beach and know my God will meet me there.

https://www.intouch.org/read/articles/when-i-couldnt-tread-water-anymore

National Days of Prayer 

April 26, 2024 • “Awful calamity … may be but a punishment … for our presumptuous sins” • National Day of Prayer: “We have forgotten God…” Lincoln

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Do you know America’s tradition of Days of Prayer?

In Alexander Young’s Chronicles of the Pilgrims, (Boston, 1841), Edward Winslow recounted:

“Drought and the like … moved not only every good man privately to enter into examination with his own estate between God and his conscience, and so to humiliation before Him, but also to humble ourselves together before the Lord by Fasting and Prayer.”

Connecticut colonists proclaimed a day in early spring for Fasting and Prayer, customarily Good Friday. 

In 1668, the Virginia House of Burgesses in Jamestown passed:

“The 27th of August appointed for a Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, to implore God’s mercy: if any person be found upon that day gaming, drinking, or working, works of necessity excepted, upon presentment by church-wardens and proof, he shall be fined.”

In 1746, French Admiral d’Anville sailed for New England, commanding the most powerful fleet of the day, 70 ships with 13,000 troops. He intended to recapture Louisburg, Nova Scotia, and destroy from Boston to New York, down to Georgia.

Massachusetts Governor William Shirley declared a Day of Prayer and Fasting, October 16, 1746. In Boston’s Old South Meeting House, Rev. Thomas Prince prayed:

“Send Thy tempest, Lord, upon the water … scatter the ships of our tormentors!” Historian Catherine Drinker Bowen related that as he finished praying, the sky darkened, winds shrieked and church bells rang “a wild, uneven sound … though no man was in the steeple.”

A hurricane scattered the entire French fleet. With 4,000 sick and 2,000 dead, including Admiral d’Anville, French Vice-Admiral d’Estournelle threw himself on his sword.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote in his Ballad of the French Fleet:

“Admiral d’Anville had sworn by cross and crown, to ravage with fire and steel our helpless Boston Town …

From mouth to mouth spread tidings of dismay, I stood in the Old South saying humbly: ‘Let us pray!’ …

Like a potter’s vessel broke, the great ships of the line,

were carried away as smoke or sank in the brine.”

As French and Spanish raids increased, Ben Franklin proposed a General Fast, approved by Pennsylvania’s Council and published in the Pennsylvania Gazette, December 12, 1747:

“We have … thought fit … to appoint … a Day of Fasting and Prayer … to join with one accord in … fervent supplications that Almighty God would mercifully interpose and still the rage of war among the nations and put a stop to the effusion of Christian blood.”

On May 24, 1774, as British blockaded Boston’s Harbor, Jefferson drafted a Resolution for the Virginia House of Burgesses:

“With apprehension of the great dangers … from the hostile invasion of the City of Boston, in our sister Colony of Massachusetts … deem it highly necessary that the said first day of June be set apart … as a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer … to implore the Divine interposition, for averting the heavy calamity which threatens destruction to our civil rights.”

Washington wrote in his diary, June 1, 1774: “Went to church, fasted all day.”

Virginia’s Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, viewed this prayer resolution as a protest against King George so he dissolved the House of Burgesses, resulting in legislators meeting down the street in Raleigh Tavern and planning the Continental Congress.

On April 15, 1775, just four days before the Battle of Lexington, John Hancock let Massachusetts Provincial Congress to declare:

“In circumstances dark as these, it becomes us, as men and Christians, to reflect that, whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the impending judgments … the 11th of May … be set apart as a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer … to confess the sins … to implore the forgiveness.”

On April 19, 1775, in a Proclamation of a Day of Fasting and Prayer, Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull beseeched that:

“God would graciously pour out His Holy Spirit on us to bring us to a thorough repentance and effectual reformation that our iniquities may not be our ruin … and make the land a mountain of Holiness.”

On June 12, 1775, less than two months after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, where was fired “the shot heard ‘round the world,” John Hancock led the Continental Congress to declare:

“Congress … considering the present critical, alarming and calamitous state … do earnestly recommend … a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer … that we may with united hearts and voices, unfeignedly confess and deplore our many sins … It is recommended to Christians of all denominations to assemble for public worship and to abstain from servile labor and recreations of said day.”

On July 12, 1775, John Adams wrote to his wife:

“We have appointed a Continental fast. Millions will be upon their knees at once before their great Creator, imploring His forgiveness and blessing; His smiles on American Council and arms.”

From his Cambridge headquarters, Washington ordered, March 6, 1776:

“Thursday, the 7th … being set apart … as a Day of Fasting, Prayer and Humiliation, ‘to implore the Lord and Giver of all victory to pardon our manifold sins and wickedness, and that it would please Him to bless the Continental army with His divine favor and protection.’”

On March 16, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution presented by General William Livingston:

“Congress …. desirous … to have people … impressed with a solemn sense of God’s superintending providence … recommend … a Day of … Prayer; that we may, with united hearts, confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and, by sincere repentance and amendment of life, appease God’s righteous displeasure, and, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain this pardon and forgiveness.”

On November 11, 1779, Virginia Governor Jefferson proclaimed:

“Congress … hath thought proper … to recommend … a day of public and solemn Thanksgiving to Almighty God … That He would … crown our arms with victory; that He would grant to His church, the plentiful effusions of Divine Grace, and pour out His Holy Spirit on all ministers of the Gospel … and spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the earth.”

On February 21, 1786, New Hampshire Governor John Langdon proclaimed a Day of Public Fasting and Prayer:

“It having been the laudable practice of this State, at the opening of the Spring, to set apart a day … to … penitently confess their manifold sins and transgressions … that He would be pleased to bless the great Council of the United States of America and … that He would rain down righteousness upon the earth, revive religion, and spread abroad the knowledge of the true God, the Savior of man, throughout the world.”

Ben Franklin stated at the Constitutional Convention, 1787:

“In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection.”

Ronald Reagan said January 27, 1983:

“In 1775, the Continental Congress proclaimed the first National Day of Prayer … In 1783, the Treaty of Paris officially ended the long, weary Revolutionary War during which a National Day of Prayer had been proclaimed every spring for eight years.”

Yale College had a requirement in 1787: “All the scholars are obliged to attend Divine worship in the College Chapel on the Lord’s Day and on Days of Fasting and Thanksgiving appointed by public authority.”

The same week Congress passed the Bill of Rights, President Washington declared, October 3, 1789:

“Whereas both Houses of Congress … requested me ‘to recommend to the People of the United States a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer … with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness’…

I do recommend … the 26th day of November … to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.”

After the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania, Washington proclaimed a Day of Prayer, January 1, 1796:

“All persons within the United States … fervently beseech the kind Author of these blessings … to establish habits of sobriety, order, and morality and piety.” 

During the Quasi-War with France, a second Great Awakening revival swept America. President Adams declared on March 23, 1798:

“The people of the United States are still held in jeopardy by … insidious acts of a foreign nation, as well as by the dissemination among them of those principles subversive to … all religious, moral, and social obligations …

I hereby recommend … a Day of Solemn Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer; That the citizens … call to mind our numerous offenses against the Most High God, confess them before Him with the sincerest penitence, implore His pardoning mercy, through the Great Mediator and Redeemer … and that through the grace of His Holy Spirit, we may be disposed and enabled to yield a more suitable obedience to His righteous requisitions … ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation but sin is a reproach to any people.’”

James Madison, known as the “Chief Architect of the Constitution,” wrote many of the Federalist Papers to convince the States to ratify the Constitution, and then introduced the First Amendment in the first session of Congress.

During the War of 1812, Madison proclaimed a Day of Prayer:

“Rendering the Sovereign of the Universe … public homage … acknowledging the transgressions which might justly provoke His divine displeasure … seeking His merciful forgiveness … and with a reverence for the unerring precept of our holy religion, to do to others as they would require that others should do to them.”

British soldiers invaded Washington, D.C., August 25, 1814, and burned the White House and Capitol. Suddenly dark clouds rolled in and a tornado touched down sending debris flying, blowing off roofs and knocking down chimneys on British troops. Horse and rider were thrown to the ground. Two cannons were lifted up and dropped yards away.

A British historian wrote: “More British soldiers were killed by this stroke of nature than from all the firearms the American troops had mustered.” British forces fled and rains extinguished the fires.

Madison proclaimed, November 16, 1814:

“In the present time of public calamity and war a day may be … observed by the people of the United States as a Day of Public Humiliation and Fasting and of Prayer to Almighty God.”

On April 13, 1841, President William Harrison died. President John Tyler issued a Day of Prayer and Fasting:

“When a Christian people feel themselves to be overtaken by a great public calamity, it becomes them to humble themselves under the dispensation of Divine Providence.”

During a cholera epidemic, President Zachary Taylor proclaimed, July 3, 1849:

“A fearful pestilence … is spreading itself throughout the land, it is fitting that a people whose reliance has ever been in His protection should humble themselves before His throne … acknowledging past transgressions, ask a continuance of the Divine mercy.

It is earnestly recommended that the first Friday in August be observed throughout the United States as a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer.”

During tensions prior to the Civil War, President Buchanan declared a Day of Prayer and Fasting, December 14, 1860:

“In this the hour of our calamity and peril to whom shall we resort for relief but to the God of our fathers? Let us … unite in humbling ourselves before the Most High, confessing our individual and national sins … His omnipotent arm only can save us from the awful effects of our own crimes and follies …

Let me invoke every individual … to feel a personal responsibility to God and his country for keeping this day holy.”

On August 12, 1861, after the Union lost the Battle of Bull Run, President Lincoln proclaimed:

“It is fit … to … revere the Supreme Government of God; to bow in humble submission to His chastisement; to confess and deplore their sins and transgressions in the full conviction that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom …

I … appoint … a Day of Humiliation, Prayer and Fasting for all the people of the nation.”

On March 30, 1863, Lincoln proclaimed a Day of Fasting and Prayer:

“The awful calamity of civil war … may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people …

We have forgotten God … We have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become … too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins.”

After the War, President Andrew Johnson issued, April 29, 1865:

“The 25th day of next month was recommended as a Day for … Prayer in consequence of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln …

but whereas my attention has since been called to the fact that the day … is sacred to large numbers of Christians as one of rejoicing for the ascension of the Savior …

I … do suggest that the religious services recommended as aforesaid should be postponed until … the 1st day of June.”

In 1901, when President McKinley was assassinated, President Theodore Roosevelt declared a Day of Prayer:

“President McKinley crowned a life of largest love for his fellow men … by a death of Christian fortitude …

Now, therefore, I … appoint … a Day of Mourning and Prayer throughout the United States … to assemble .… in their respective places of divine worship … to bow down in submission to the will of Almighty God.”

When the U.S. entered World War One, President Wilson proclaimed May 11, 1918:

“‘In a time of war humbly and devoutly to acknowledge our dependence on Almighty God and to implore His aid and protection …

I … proclaim … a Day of Public Humiliation, Prayer and Fasting, and do exhort my fellow-citizens … to pray Almighty God that He may forgive our sins.”

When President Harding died, President Coolidge declared, August 24, 1923:

“I … appoint … a Day of Mourning and Prayer throughout the United States. I earnestly recommend the people to assemble on that day in their respective places of divine worship, there to bow down in submission to the will of Almighty God.”

During the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed, November 12, 1935:

“Let us then on the day appointed offer our devotions and our humble thanks to Almighty God and pray that the people of America will be guided by Him in helping their fellow men.”

When the U.S. entered World War Two, Roosevelt stated December 21, 1941:

“The year 1941 has brought upon our Nation a war of aggression by powers dominated by arrogant rulers whose selfish purpose is to destroy free institutions …

Therefore, I … do hereby appoint … a Day of Prayer, of asking forgiveness for our shortcomings of the past, of consecration to the tasks of the present, of asking God’s help in days to come.'”

During the D-Day invasion, Roosevelt broadcast over radio, June 6, 1941:

“I ask you to join with me in prayer: Almighty God, Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, and our civilization …

Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces … We know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph …

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom …

Help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.”

After the War, President Truman declared in a Day of Prayer, August 16, 1945:

“This is the end of the … schemes of dictators to enslave the peoples of the world … Our global victory … has come with the help of God … Let us … dedicate ourselves to follow in His ways.”

In 1952, when the Cold War began with the Soviet Union, Truman made the National Day of Prayer an annual observance:

“In times of national crisis when we are striving to strengthen the foundations of peace … we stand in special need of Divine support.”

In 1954, President Eisenhower signed the bill to add “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. In 1956, he signed the bill making “In God We Trust” the official National motto; and the bill adding “In God We Trust” to the Nation’s paper currency.

On February 7, 1954, President Eisenhower supported the American Legion “Back-to-God” Program, broadcasting from the White House:

“As a former soldier, I am delighted that our veterans are sponsoring a movement to increase our awareness of God in our daily lives. In battle, they learned a great truth — that there are no atheists in the foxholes. They know that in time of test and trial, we instinctively turn to God for new courage …

Whatever our individual church, whatever our personal creed, our common faith in God is a common bond among us.”

After Apollo 13 had an explosion, President Nixon stated April 19, 1970:

“When we learned of the safe return of our astronauts, I asked that the Nation observe a National Day of Prayer …

In these days of growing materialism, deep down there is still a great religious faith in this Nation …

I think more people prayed last week than perhaps have prayed in many years in this country …

We pray for the assistance of God when … faced with … great potential tragedy.”

On May 5, 1988, President Reagan made the National Day of Prayer the first Thursday in May, saying:

“Americans in every generation have turned to their Maker in prayer … We have acknowledged … our dependence on Almighty God.”

President Bush declared Days of Prayer after the Islamic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina, 2005.

President Trump remarked on the National Day of Prayer, May 3, 2018:

“Today, we remember the words of Reverend Graham, ‘Prayer is the key that opens to us the treasures of God’s mercies and blessings’… Graham’s words remind us that prayer has always been at the center of American life, because America is a nation of believers.”

—

Prayers and President – Inspiring Faith from Leaders of the Past

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Image Credits: Public Domain; Portrait of Abraham Lincoln in 1863; Artist: Alexander Gardner (1821–1882); Blue pencil.svg wikidata:Q661176; Author: Moses Parker Rice (1839-1925), possibly one of Gardner’s former assistants, copyrighted this portrait in the late nineteenth century, along with other photographs by Gardner; portrait of Abraham Lincoln, taken on November 8, 1863, eleven days before his famed Gettysburg Address, to be the best photograph of him ever taken; Medium: matte collodion print; Collection: Mead Art Museum Blue pencil.svg wikidata:Q6803132 ; Source/Photographer: museums.fivecolleges.edu ; Other versions: http://www.physical-lincoln.com/exposure/o77 ; The author died in 1882, so this work is in the public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abraham_Lincoln_O-77_matte_collodion_print.jpg ;

Description: Ronald Reagan’s presidential portrait, February 7, 1981; Source: http://www.dodmedia.osd.mil/DVIC_View/Still_Details.cfm?SDAN=DASC9003096&JPGPath=/Assets/Still/1990/Army/DA-SC-90-03096.JPG ; Author: Michael Evans (1944–2005) Blue pencil.svg wikidata:Q13475480 ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Official_Portrait_of_President_Reagan_1981.jpg

https://americanminute.com/blogs/todays-american-minute/national-days-of-prayer-we-have-forgotten-god-lincoln-awful-calamity-may-be-but-a-punishment-for-our-presumptuous-sins-american-minute-with-bill-federer