Breaking News From The Supreme Court

Update:

The Supreme Court rules Tuesday in favor of pro-life groups that counsel pregnant women to make choices other than abortion, invalidating a California law requiring them to prominently post information on how to obtain a state-funded abortion.

The court, in a 5-4 ruling, said the state law probably violates the Constitution. The court also cast doubts on similar laws in Hawaii and Illinois.

Pro-life groups had challenged government requirements that they prominently post information on how to obtain a state-funded abortion and that unlicensed centers provide disclaimers to potential clients that they are not a licensed medical facility.

The California law took effect in 2016.

Supreme Court rules for crisis pregnancy centers in free speech dispute

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/06/26/supreme-court-rules-for-crisis-pregnancy-centers-in-free-speech-dispute.html

 

Some Thoughts About Prayer

This weekend, Amy and I will be attending a Church Family Camp. I’m very excited for the opportunity to go and fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ, and to refresh my spirit and return even more on fire for the Lord.

On the first night of camp, I’ve been asked to speak about “Why and How We Should Pray”. While studying for my topic, I came across the following 5 tips that were written by Betsy de Cruz, a Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer.

If all the technology things work out correctly, I will post a video of my talk when we get back from camp.

You can find the entire article at Crosswalkcom by going here.

Here are her 5 tips:

Tip 1: Pray Simply

We might think we have to pray passionate, persuasive words for God to hear us, but in reality, He listens even to our shortest “SOS” prayers.

“The fewer the words, the better the prayer,” said Martin Luther. Isn’t that reassuring? We can talk to God in everyday language, just like we talk to a friend. We don’t have to pray long. God delights in a simple word of praise, like “Lord, I love you.” He treasures the anguished prayer of a mother when she calls, “Heal my child.”He answers the simplest request: “Lord, give me strength for today.” 

Tip 2: Read the Word

Have you ever had a one-sided conversation with someone who talked continually without listening to you? The conversation didn’t go very far, did it? We do the same thing to God when we pray without reading the Bible, His eternal letter of love and wisdom to each one of us on earth. Reading Scripture helps us get to know God. It brings life to our prayers.

If you want to have a more effective conversation with God, read Scripture. Let David’s words in the Psalms enliven your prayers. Stop in the Gospels to pray over a verse that strikes you, asking God to work that truth into your heart. Let the words of Paul’s letters give you specific prayer requests for yourself and the people you love.

Tip 3: Make Prayer Active and Multi-Sensory 

Prayer grows dull when we turn it into a purely mental exercise. God made us creative beings, so why don’t we bring creativity to our prayer lives? Lighting a fragrant candle can send a signal to our brains: “It’s time to pray.” It can bring a sacred sense of awe to a few minutes of prayer. Listening to music can help us focus on God. Many people enjoy doodling, drawing, or painting while they pray.

I help my ADHD-plagued brain focus on prayer by keeping a prayer journal. Making a list of requests keeps my mind alert; I stop to pray for each petition after jotting it down. Occasionally I write out longer prayers like a letter. A prayer journal builds faith when you look back over your petitions and recall God’s answers.

Remember you don’t have to sit quietly to pray. My best prayer times happen out on the walking trail. Praying aloud also helps me keep my mind engaged, but I save that for prayer times at home.

Tip 4: Make Prayer an Integral Part of Your Day

This verse baffles me: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;” (1 Thess. 5:16-17) Is it really possible to pray without ceasing?

How about trying an experiment? Start and end your day with prayer. Lift up short prayers to God as often as you can throughout your day. Pray over your schedule. Ask God to help you with your to-do list. When you hear a troubling news report, lift the situation up to God. Say a prayer for your spouse or child as you give him or her a hug. Pray for the person you’re talking to. A friend of mine gives thanks whenever she stops at red lights while driving. Look for prayer moments that work for your life.

Tip 5: Pray Expectantly

Prayer becomes a lifeless exercise when we’re not looking for answers. Jesus invites us to expect God to work. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

How much more exciting prayer becomes when we keep our eyes open to watch for God’s answers. Sometimes I wonder how many answers we miss because we don’t really expect God to respond.

Remember Colossians 4:2: “Devote Yourselves to Prayer, being watchful and thankful.” 

How about getting started today? Don’t get discouraged if you get distracted like I do. Just get back on track. Pray and watch for God’s answers, so you can thank Him. He might answer differently than you expect, but His answer will always be better than what you had in mind.

The Latest In Pro-Life News: Issue 2

Email from ACLJ on Planned Parenthood

Ed,

We’re on the precipice of devastating Planned Parenthood, but we need you.

Planned Parenthood aborts – kills – 321,384 babies a year – nearly 900 lives a day. It takes $543 million of your tax dollars a year – nearly $1.5 million every single day.

Planned Parenthood is profiteering from abortion, padding its bottom line by selling aborted babies, and bragging about taking your tax dollars.

This indescribable evil must end. Now.

For decades, we’ve been fighting in Congress and at the Supreme Court to defund Planned Parenthood. Now in a stunning reversal, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed a new pro-life rule defunding more than $60 million of our tax dollars from Planned Parenthood – all of Title X.

This is the beginning of the end for Planned Parenthood. But they won’t go down without a fight. In just weeks, we’re making a critical public legal filing to defend this new pro-life rule.

We also have a critical case pending at the Supreme Court – that could be decided any day – which could devastate Big Abortion by saving countless babies.

We need your voice. Demand Planned Parenthood be defunded now.

Sign Our Petition: Defund Planned Parenthood and Big Abortion.

Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel

 

Email from Live Action on New Expose

Live Action released two videos today showing Planned Parenthood employees, caught on camera at 15 different facilities across the country, willing to cover up child sexual abuse and child sex trafficking.

Recorded in 2008 and 2011, today’s videos include an investigation of child statutory rape reporting as well as child sex trafficking aiding and abetting at Planned Parenthood, adding to the mounting body of evidence that the corporation’s culture of cover up is systemic and widespread.

It’s critical with the narrative of #MeToo and #Time’sUp that America knows Planned Parenthood is part of the problem when it comes to perpetuating sexual abuse – not the solution.

These investigative videos show a corporation that is so intensely focused on profiting from the killing of preborn children, that it is willing to exploit the pain of abuse victims as a part of its corporate culture. Watch these videos, and all of the videos in our docuseries, by clicking the link below.

Watch the docuseries: https://www.liveaction.org/aidingabusers/

 

Majority of Americans want abortion ‘more restricted,’ Gallup finds

A majority of U.S. citizens continue to favor banning most abortions, according to new polling data from Gallup.

On Monday, Gallup released a new report on its annual survey of American abortion attitudes. While respondents’ self-labeling remains evenly divided, with 48% each identifying as “pro-life” and “pro-choice,” more specific questions reveal that a clear majority wants to ban most abortions.

A combined 53% of Americans favor legal abortion in “few” or “no” circumstances, while just 43% think abortion should be legal in “all” or “most” circumstances.

Further probing of American attitudes found the public “favoring more restrictive rather than less restrictive laws.”

These findings have been remarkably durable for more than two decades, as 54% or more have given Gallup the same answer every year from 1995 through 2017.

Full article at LifeSiteNews.com.

 

U.S. blocked Canada’s abortion agenda at G7 negotiations

In the lead-up to this year’s G7 summit in Quebec, Canadian officials were explicit: women and children were going to be central, and an essential component of their health and empowerment is abortion. But when the final declarations were released, all language about “reproductive rights” was removed, and, according to Devex, “the U.S. delegation…was responsible for the softer official language.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, following the famous example of Sweden, has characterized his government and its foreign policy as “feminist.” He employs quotas to ensure that half his cabinet members are women and imposes regulations on his party to support only pro-abortion policies and candidates.  For the first time, as G7 host, Canada established a Gender Equality Advisory Council which submitted its recommendations to integrate gender into the G7’s work. Other inputs included a statement from more than sixty feminists that included a call for an end to the “criminalization or restrictive regulation of abortion.”

Full article at LifeSiteNews.com.

 

Texas abortionists sue to destroy decades of pro-life laws

The abortion lobby in Texas launched a new legal strategy this week it hopes will invalidate scores of pro-life laws that have been on the books for years.

On Thursday, attorneys representing the infamous Texas abortion provider Whole Woman’s Health filed a lawsuit against the state’s ultrasound requirement, 24-hour waiting period, licensing standards, requirement that abortions be performed only by doctors rather than clinic staff, and more.

The basis of the new challenge is the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2016 decision to strike down the state’s requirement that abortionists have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and abortion facilities adhere to the same building standards as ambulatory medical facilities.

This Week’s Podcasts

This week on the Ed Boston Podcast Network, we will be doing a follow-up on Harvest America 2018 and the 2nd installment of Pro-Life News and Views with Amy Boston.

If any major developments take place in the Trump/Kim summit, we will cover that as well

We will post the Harvest America follow-up on Wednesday.

Pro-Life News and Views with Amy Boston will air on Friday.

Pro Life

Pastor Greg Laurie Talk’s End Times Prophesy

My good friend Trevor Decker has the following post up:

Not even 20 years into the 21st century, it seems like time is speeding up and global events happening one on top of the other. Could it be a sign of the end times?

These are some of the things Greg Laurie preaches about as pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California and as an evangelist at huge Harvest Crusades across the globe.
Read the entire transcript at:  https://trevordecker.com/2018/05/05/pastor-greg-laurie-take-many-people-can-heaven-us/

 

When An Atheist Says People Should Be Worried About The Decline of Christianity

Outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins shared a Guardian article about the decline of Christianity in Europe – and said people should be worried, as well as quoted a Catholic author!

In an article titled: “Atheist Richard Dawkins Warns Post-Christian Europe May Be Worse, Quotes Catholic Writer” at the ChurchPop.com website, we here at the Ed Boston Podcast Network have to wonder out loud, just what does this mean?

Take your time and check this out.