Pray to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, to end abortion in America.
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SCRIPTURE
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Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
-- Ephesians 3:20-21
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REFLECTION by Carmen Pate, Point of View
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God's power working in and through His people is unlimited and far beyond our comprehension when we submit to God's Word and Spirit. He receives glory when we are obedient to His calling and faithfully serve Him in His strength.
Consider God's hand of providence on this nation because of the faithfulness of a few who were totally committed to God and His truths.
It is interesting to note the words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta: "Yours is the one great nation in all history which was founded on the precept of equal rights and respect for all humankind, for the poorest and weakest of us as well as the richest and strongest."
Mother Teresa, in addressing the Supreme Court of the United States said, "Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. I have no new teaching for America. I seek only to recall you to faithfulness to what you once taught the world.
She continued, "Your nation was founded on the proposition very old as a moral precept, but startling and innovative as a political insight that human life is a gift of immeasurable worth, and that it deserves, always and everywhere, to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect."
It is time to restore that dignity and respect. Our God is able. Are we willing to remain faithful until His work through us is done?
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PRAYER
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God Almighty, Who is powerful and willing to supply, our hearts cry in unison for You to restore dignity and respect to human life, not only in America, but around the world.
Lord, may our hearts remain faithful to your calling, and may You begin Your transforming work with me.
Keep me ever mindful that with You Lord, nothing is impossible; without You, I can do nothing. To You be glory forever and ever, Amen.
Since this initiative began just 13 days ago in 135 cities across 43 states, Canada, Australia, and Northern Ireland, the number of confirmed reports of lives saved from abortion has already climbed to...
...92!!
(And those are just the ones we know about!)
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DAY 13 INTENTION
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We pray for the strength to love those who do not love us.
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SCRIPTURE
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But the Lord said "You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in the night and perished in the night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, and much livestock? Should I not be concerned about that great city?"
-- Jonah 4:10-11
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REFLECTION by Dennis DiMauro, Lutherans for Life
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God doesn't value people and things like we do.
Jonah loved a shade tree more than an entire city of sinful people. We love our dogs more than a terrorist. We love our cars more than a beggar on the side of the road. And sometimes, we love our money more than a child growing in a desperate teenager's womb.
But God isn't like us. Genesis 1 tells us that humans were the capstone of God's creation.
We were created on the sixth day after God had completed the land, the stars, the plants and the animals. Therefore, His love for us is greater than His love for a plant, an animal, or any other created thing.
And the book of Jonah tells us that He loves even the most sinful people and seeks to bring them into His merciful arms. And it's a love that seeks to touch all of his created children: that desperate teenager, the baby growing in her womb, even tyrants and terrorists.
So it's up to us to imitate God's merciful love by helping and praying for those who persecute us, and those who don't love us back.
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PRAYER
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Gracious God, loving our enemies seems like one of most difficult things you could ask of us.
Please remind us that this is how you love and that if you ask it of us then you will give us the grace to do it. This we ask through Christ our Lord, Amen.