President addresses UN on religious freedom; a first

“The President will call on the international community to take concrete steps to prevent attacks against people on the basis of their religion or beliefs and to ensure the sanctity of houses of worship and all public spaces for all faiths.” https://www.christianpost.com/news/trump-to-give-historic-religious-freedom-speech-at-united-nations-evangelical-leaders-invited.html.   80% of the world lives under religious oppression.

His address concerns all religions, but this is the worst time in history for Christians. "In 2017 Pew released a report showing that the number of countries where Christians fell victim to government restrictions and social hostilities grew from 108 in 2014 to 128 the following year. In its World Watch Monitor Report, covering 2016, Open Doors, an organization supporting persecuted Christians, found that: “More than 200 million Christians in the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian experience persecution because of their faith.” Other sources claimed that the true figure for 2016 may be as high as 600 million.. https://www.churchinneed.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/persecution-1-1.pdf

https://www.newsweek.com/christian-persecution-genocide-worse-ever-770462

As thousands gathered last week to protest a climate model that has been proven false or inadequate for decades, real people were being tortured, turned into refugees and killed for their faith.

Christians making tough decisions

California, and probably other states, has guidelines for teaching children gender issues in "health" classes, which include the current misinformation that biology changes. Parents can opt out, but not the teachers. I heard a middle school teacher on the radio who fears for her job because she cannot in good conscience violate her Christian beliefs. Not all persecution is having your church blown up or being kidnapped and sold into slavery.

It's not slavery, but in our culture and our century, Christians have to make choices about perpetuating and teaching lies to children. There are many forms of religious persecution. And perhaps Muslim men feel that not being able follow their beliefs about FGM because of U.S. laws is persecution. For some reason some feminists (from what I've seen on the internet) go along with that but deny our concerns about the bizarre transgender medical solutions to a mental condition which may involve removing penis and testicles or creating a penis and adding toxic hormones to the body of gender confused adults and children.

About 33 years ago there was a  part time librarian position available at OSU that fit my schedule needs--in Women's Studies. Although I was a liberal Democrat at the time, I was pro-life. I knew I could not reconcile my own values with the research needs of the library clients. I did not apply. God blessed the decision, however. Later in 1986 got the Veterinary Medicine full time position working with the greatest students in the country.

The night Ted Cruz was booed off the stage—by Christians

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz speaking at an event intended to bring light to the vicious persecution of Christians began his speech at the In Defense of Christians’ gala on September 10 as keynote speaker ":

“Good evening. Today we are gathered at a time of extraordinary challenge. Tonight we are all united in defense of Christians. Tonight we are all united in defense of Jews. Tonight we are all united in defense of people of good faith who are standing together against those who would persecute and murder those who dare to disagree with their religious teachings.”

Murmurs around the room, which had begun with the senator’s greeting, grew louder when Cruz continued:

“Religious bigotry is a cancer with many manifestations. ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, and their state sponsors like Syria and Iran, are all engaged in a vicious genocidal campaign to destroy religious minorities in the Middle East.

Sometimes we are told not to lump these groups together, that we have to understand their so-called nuances and differences. But we shouldn’t try to parse different manifestations of evil that are on murderous rampage through the region. Hate is hate and murder is murder.”

Instead of hearing Cruz’s remarks as a rallying cry to unity for those who are facing the same enemy, a small but very vocal group booed and heckled. Shouts of “Stop it!” and “No!” arose. Although Cruz persisted for some minutes, he cut short his speech and walked off the stage after saying that

“my heart weeps that the men and women here will not stand in solidarity with Jews and Christians alike who are persecuted by radicals who seek to murder them.”

Making sense of IDC

http://www.indefenseofchristians.org/idc/statement-idc-president-following-disruption-idc-gala-dinner/

Pray for Sam

A young Christian ministry assistant in Latin America purchased cement which he thought was legal (all cement is controlled by the government). After it arrived at the seminary a woman in the community became very upset because she had been waiting TWO YEARS for cement. She called the National Guard. At first they said there was no problem but as things escalated they changed their minds and decided Sam had purchased contraband and took him to jail. In Latin America you are guilty until proven innocent, so he has to remain there while they conduct their investigation. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.  Even if you don’t know the circumstances, God knows.

Dr. Gemechis Buba,, NALC Assistant to the Bishop for Missions

There are more Lutherans in Ethiopia than there are in the largest U.S. synod, ELCA. And we are so fortunate to have one in the North American Lutheran Church, residing and working here in Columbus. This morning he preached at our church, and he left the congregation breathless and excited. Rev. Dr. Gemechis Buba has personally experienced the persecution of the church and that was his topic today, the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7). When he was about 3 years old and his baby sister 3 months, his parents were taken from their home by the Communists and imprisoned. Eventually his mother was released, but his father was tortured and brutalized for 6 years. The four threats to Christianity today he told us are, 1) Communism, 2) radical Islam, 3) traditional religions, and 4) liberalism in Europe and the U.S.--some Christians in name only who don't preach the Bible and the traditional beliefs of Christianity. He urged us to be strong and to be a praying church of praying families made up of praying individuals.

Dr. Buba left ELCA where he was the Director of African National Ministries and joined NALC after the ELCA decided to allow active homosexuals in the ordained clergy. ELCA evicted the Immigrant African Churches in the United States (United Oromo Evangelical Churches) from their buildings and expelled them from the synod because of their opposition to that policy.

Dr. Buba preaching in Iowa at a young congregation, Faith Lutheran, 3 years old.

Praying for the President

There's almost nothing more difficult for me (other than the discipline of regular exercise) than praying for President Obama. I intensely dislike him and everything he stands for. I believe he has kidnapped our spirit/freedom/wealth and sold them into slavery. But. However. Notwithstanding. Therefore.

Christians are clearly commanded to pray for their government's leaders, whether they be Roman Caesars, Romanian Communists, or Haitian dictators. And oddly enough, the Christian church seems to thrive under that sort of government, more than when they are invited to partake in the evidence of earthly powers by electing Methodist pastors to the state house or community organizers to the White House, with that call and post, old time, negro rhythm so appealing to agnostic liberals.

I remember way back in the 80s when the Communist regime in USSR was just beginning to thaw a bit, it was discovered there was a huge group of Lutherans in Siberia no one knew about--they were descendants, as I recall, of POWs of WWI from Germany who had intermarried with the local women, and they had stayed true to the church despite no longer even understanding the German language they used in their liturgy. Several weeks ago we had Chinese immigrants speak to our Bible study group and the stories they told us about how the church has thrived in mainland China under the Communists, but is weak in Taiwan where they had freedom to worship, were just amazing. They told us things about the Communist system which actually aided the growth of the church, even though at the time, there was terrible suffering and death.

So, how do you pray? I got a clue watching a program a few weeks about a mother whose daughter was kidnapped and murdered; she described how she prayed for her daughter's captor. She realized that her own bitterness and fear was bad for her, crippling her ability to function for the rest of her family and she needed to forgive him (at this time, she didn't know her daughter was already dead, only that she had been taken). She began by praying about very simple things . . . things that didn't matter at all, like maybe if he were fishing he'd have a good catch, or he'd have a sunny day, or a good meal. She reasoned (incorrectly on that point) that if life were better for him, maybe he would treat her daughter well. She was able, day by day, to lose her own bitterness by praying for a person who was evil, and who had hurt her terribly, and eventually came not to hate him. By the time he finally called to taunt her, about a year later, she was calm and caring, completely catching him off guard. She was able to keep him on the phone by expressing genuine, not fake, concern built by hours of real prayer. This lead to his arrest. Then it was discovered that he had murdered the child shortly after her kidnapping. And he then committed suicide awaiting trial. Not a happy "answer to prayer," or was it? She had refused to participate in his evil, and prayed for him.

So there are some little things I can pray sincerely for Obama--and that is his relationship with his daughters, because that I can tie in directly with his pro-abortion views. Only God knows how a man conceived and birthed by an unmarried teenager (her putative "husband" already had several wives back home) can be so bitter toward the unborn, but perhaps he was made to feel unwanted by his birth family and grandparents. Whatever the source of his hate, I can ask God that his daughters shower him with love and kisses and warm his cold, cold heart. Yes, indeed, I can do that!

Christians don't need evolution taught in the schools, or Christmas carols sung at public events, or plaques with the 10 Commandments, or government grants to feed the hungry; we need some good, old fashioned persecution by a hostile president, and boy, we've got that! Alleluia, let's get started! He has helped by destroying that golden calf of consumerism to which our knees had bowed. We can expect great things to happen during the Obama reign.