Poland: Believing in God is same as killing and stealing
A Polish atheist billboard campaign compares believing in God to killing and stealing, in what observers call an open challenge to the Roman Catholic Church. ‘In a country considered to be Catholic it's hard to be an atheist. Contrary to popular belief there are many of us although not all of us have let our beliefs be known. The billboard action is not aimed at believers. It is to show people that in a country where the stereotypical Pole is a Catholic there is a large group of atheists,’ Jacek Tabisz, President of the Polish Association of Rationalists, explained to The Scotsman. Over 80% of the Polish country identify as Catholic. The controversial billboards have been put up in several Polish cities featuring three boxes labelled ‘Do Not Kill,’ ‘Do Not Steal,’ ‘Do Not Believe,’ with tick marks next to each one. Another billboard asks the question ‘Don't believe in God,’ following it by ‘You are not alone.’
Pray: that this billboard action will have the opposite effect to that intended by causing many non believers to discuss and seek out Christian values.
Poland: Believing in God is same as killing and stealing
A Polish atheist billboard campaign compares believing in God to killing and stealing, in what observers call an open challenge to the Roman Catholic Church. ‘In a country considered to be Catholic it's hard to be an atheist. Contrary to popular belief there are many of us although not all of us have let our beliefs be known. The billboard action is not aimed at believers. It is to show people that in a country where the stereotypical Pole is a Catholic there is a large group of atheists,’ Jacek Tabisz, President of the Polish Association of Rationalists, explained to The Scotsman. Over 80% of the Polish country identify as Catholic. The controversial billboards have been put up in several Polish cities featuring three boxes labelled ‘Do Not Kill,’ ‘Do Not Steal,’ ‘Do Not Believe,’ with tick marks next to each one. Another billboard asks the question ‘Don't believe in God,’ following it by ‘You are not alone.’
Pray: that this billboard action will have the opposite effect to that intended by causing many non believers to discuss and seek out Christian values.
YOU ARE INVITED to make history in the Himalayas with your prayers! Your cry to heaven is needed and a team of church planting ministries is asking YOU - will you help us storm heaven's gates through intercession?
Dr. Wesley Duewel, author and missionary to India, writes: “Prayer is the only adequate way to multiply our efforts fast enough to reap the harvest God desires.”
There are missions specialists who believe that some of the principalities that rule the world reside in these "high places," which are the mountains connecting Tibet and the Northern side of India's Hindu Kush region, as well as Pakistan and Afghanistan. This area hosts a full range of practiced religions, including Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and tribal spirit worship.
The High Places Prayer Patrol is a website that will equip you with powerful prayer tools as well as connect you with other believers around the world in heartfelt prayer for spiritual breakthroughs in these rugged, yet beautiful, mountain tops.
Our Interactive Peoples Map will connect you with profiles of unreached people groups Pray along at the Regional Prayer Stations, where slideshows featuring authentic local music will bring you face to face with the peoples of each mountainous region. Sign up via email to join thousands of others believers in unified Daily Prayers for the region. Lift your voice in worship to usher in His Presence at one of the Worship Stations that feature modern powerful worship songs. Lastly, get to know the Pioneers, some of Jesus' history-makers who sowed their very lives into the high places.
Are YOU ready to become a history-maker? History belongs to the intercessor.
Ann Clwyd MP's campaign for compassion in nursing
An MP who said her late husband died 'like a battery hen' in hospital says she will start a campaign for greater compassion and care in nursing. Ann Clwyd, Labour MP for Cynon Valley, has criticised the 'indifference and contempt' of some nurses who treated her late husband at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. She said she had received an 'amazing response' since speaking out. Mrs Clwyd will now meet campaign groups to see how best to raise standards. “There are some good nurses, but there are also some very bad nurses and people have talked about their own experiences. I've had hundreds and hundreds of emails from people from all over the country and the theme is the same. Mrs Clwyd said she intended to meet patient bodies and campaigning groups to see how the issues raised could be addressed.
Pray: for a society that cares more for everyone especially the vulnerable such as the sick and the elderly. (Php. 2:3-4)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20657747
One out of six charities say they may have to close in 2013
The UK's flatlining economy is having a devastating effect on charities, according to research that suggests that two out of five face closure, with many set to disappear as early as next year unless things improve. A poll commissioned by the Charities Aid Foundation confirms that public spending cutbacks and falling donations are conspiring to devastating effect. The foundation warns that as many as one in six charities believe they may close in the coming year, while nearly half say they are being forced to dip into reserves. One in three say they fear being forced to cut services. The figures will make gloomy reading in Downing Street, which believes the third sector has a vital role to play in delivering the prime minister's vision for his 'big society'. The funding crisis comes as charities report that there is more demand for their services.
Pray: for charities and their supporters that they may be able to continue to do their good work. (Ro.2:7)
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/09/one-in-six-charities-close
Today I'm writing you and begging you for some of your prayer collateral to be targeted towards our 2-year focus on the High Places of the earth. At the beginning of 2012, the Lord gave me a vision for an unprecedented visitation of His Sprit across the Hindu Kush, from Tibet over to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
One of the strategies, other then numerous on-site teams which are in and out right now across the territory, is to tug on the Body of Christ around the world to toss in a pinch or a pound of their prayer. Those of us who have worked in this area for over 20 years now have discovered that the prayer and church planting teams going in are like the tip of the arrow but the shaft (i.e. the driving power) is the Body of Christ rallying.
This has been made easy at the virtual prayer room we created at the clickable link below:
http://highplaces.prayerpatrol.net
Get the word out, rally your people, promote it to prayer groups/movements you have relationship with?
Press 'need to act' after Leveson
The press have been urged to take action over Leveson Inquiry recommendations to regulate the newspaper industry. Lord Justice Leveson called for a new independent watchdog - which he said should be underpinned by legislation. Culture Secretary Maria Miller told the BBC ‘the gauntlet has been thrown down’ to newspapers to outline how they would set up tough self-regulation instead. Lord Justice Leveson's 2,000-page report into press ethics, published last Thursday, found that press behaviour was ‘outrageous’ and ‘wreaked havoc with the lives of innocent people’. He said the press - having failed to regulate itself in the past - must create a new and tough regulator but it had to be backed by legislation to ensure it was effective. Following cross-party talks the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will begin the process of drawing up a draft bill implementing the Leveson recommendations.
Pray: that the press will take up the challenge by working together to fulfil the recommendations. (Ps.119:45)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20551634
Scouts consider removing 'God' from promise
The UK Scouts Association has launched a public consultation on whether an alternative non-religious pledge should be introduced for atheists. The existing Scout Promise reads: ‘On my honour, I promise that I will do my best, to do my duty to God and to the Queen, to help other people and to keep the Scout Law.’ But the National Secular Society wrote to the Scouts in March to say that atheist children and potential leaders were being excluded because of the reference to God. The Scouting movement is 105 years old but numbers of children joining are on the increase. Membership is up from 444,936 in 2005 to 525,364 this year. There are a further 35,000 young people on waiting lists. UK Scout Chief Commissioner Wayne Bulpitt said, ‘We are regularly seeking the views of our members and we will use the information gathered by the consultation to help shape the future of Scouting for the coming years.’
Pray: that pressure from a small atheist minority will not cause the movement to revise its founding principles. (1Cor.3:10)
More: http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/social/scouts-consider-removing-god-from-
Gagged - judge who dared to stick up for marriage
A judge was ordered to keep a ‘lower profile’ on Tuesday – after he spoke out in favour of marriage. Judicial watchdogs rebuked High Court family law judge Sir Paul Coleridge following protests about his involvement in a campaign to make marriage ‘the gold standard of relationships’. Sir Paul is listed as ‘founder and chairman’ of the Marriage Foundation think-tank and boosted its launch with a series of high-profile interviews and newspaper articles. But a barrister complained to the Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC), the disciplinary body for judges, that Sir Paul was breaking rules that prevent judges associating themselves with any ‘organisation, group or cause’. The disciplinary panel, led by Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling and a senior High Court judge, President of the Queen’s Bench Division Sir John Thomas, found there had been no judicial misconduct. The OJC said: ‘Mr Justice Coleridge has agreed to keep a lower profile role within the organisation.
Pray: that Sir Paul’s interviews will have raised the profile of marriage and may his influence continue to bear fruit. (Heb.13:4)
More: http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2012/12/05/gagged-judge-who-dared-to-stick-up-for-marriage/
NIGERIA: Inside the lion’s den
The following is a portion of a report from a British-Kenyan who visited Maiduguri: ‘Before the chaos took hold, I remembered Maiduguri as a surprisingly cosmopolitan and peaceful town, with an eclectic mix of people of different faiths, ethnicities, and subcultures; different types of food and music.- ordinary people, with a somewhat royal air, steeped in tradition with a somewhat modern and outward look. During my recent time there, I found a Maiduguri under siege by Boko Haram fighters and the Joint Task Force. The colour described above was replaced by a city enmeshed in road blocks, checkpoint and sandbags on every major road and intersection. The city was patrolled by heavily armed military personnel. We heard bombs exploding, and bullets being fired – followed by the screeching of JTF sirens that seemed to be coming from all directions every 2-3 hours. Father David Bridling, from St Patrick’s Catholic Church said half the Christian inhabitants of Borno State have left.’
Pray: for the tens of thousands who have fled from Maiduguri. May they know God’s provision and protection, especially over this Christmas period. (Ps.11)
More: http://www.informationnigeria.org/2012/12/inside-the-lions-den-of-nigerias-boko-haram.html