Day: June 22, 2013

Morning Reading: Acts 8.26-40 NLT – Spirit led

Reading: Acts 8:26-40 NLT

As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah.

Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?”

So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.

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As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”

[Some manuscripts add: Philip said, “You can, if you believe with all your heart.” And he answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]

He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.

Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.

Prayer: Heavenly Father – You send your emissaries to every tribe and nation… some go willingly, some go in spite of themselves. But wherever you send me, enable me to see it as another opportunity to share the Good News about Jesus. Holy Spirit – Open my eyes to see the opportunities that you have prepared for me. And give me the courage to seize the moment… and allow you to speak through me. Lord Jesus – May many confess you as Savior and Lord… and be baptized into your family. Amen.

Gospel Hymn: “We have heard the joyful sound” – Priscilla J. Owens
Adaptation by Colin Webster, Cornerstone Church, UK
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MAID TO SUFFER – Re-Blog Y-Oman.com

Peanut Gallery: It’s been less than 50 years since slavery was abolished in Oman. But it’s much easier to change laws, than it is to change attitudes… as the following article illustrates.

Human trafficking is just another form of de facto slavery. The living conditions can be horrible and the treatment of servants/workers even worse… and this is in Oman who are the relative “good guys” in the Gulf region.

To their credit, they allowed this article to be published – remember that Oman is an absolute monarchy. And they are beginning to acknowledge and address this issue.

But condescending, exploitative attitudes towards non-Arab expats are hard to change. They are built into the Arab/Islamic mindset which dominates the region.

Note: 100 Omani Rials are worth 260 American Dollars.
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30 MAY 2013   POSTED BY Y

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Isolated and far from home with no one to turn to, the plight of Ethiopian domestic staff who came to Oman for a new life and end up trapped in a nightmare, is one that cannot be ignored, reports Kate Ginn.

She had arrived in Oman from a small town in a remote part of Ethiopia full of hope. Hope that she had secured a good job as a maid in a prosperous country and would be able to send money to her family back home. She believed this fortuitous break might herald some much-needed luck and that a brighter future now beckoned for her far away from the confines of her poverty-stricken African homeland.

Her lucky break was in fact being found still alive after being raped and violated by her sponsor and three of his friends and dumped like a piece of rubbish in the desert to die.

When some locals came across her, she was bleeding and barely conscious, having spentten days in the desert. Doctors said she only survived because of the unusual prolonged rainy conditions, another piece of luck.

Not having friends or family to turn to or any embassy to provide shelter, she was alone and helpless.

Without the kindness of strangers, she would have died. Even then, she was arrested and jailed for two months because her Omani sponsor had alerted police in the Interior that she was a ‘run-away’ or absconder.

Continue reading “MAID TO SUFFER – Re-Blog Y-Oman.com” →

USCCB: Fortnight for Freedom – Current Threats To Religious Liberty

Peanut Gallery: We are not living in North Korea or Saudi Arabia… no one in America is being tortured or imprisoned for their Christian beliefs.  Not yet anyways. 

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A bald eagle and U.S. flag are seen in an illustration for religious liberty that was created by photographer Lisa Johnston of the St. Louis Review.

But Religious Freedom in America is intentionally and systematically being dismantled by secular statists in our government… one seemingly small battle at a time. They are moving with the secular tide… sinking one boat at a time.

The USCCB has been in the forefront of the battle to stem the tide. You may, or may not, agree with all their positions… but it doesn’t matter.  Christian believers of every stripe are in this battle together like it or not. It’s time to wake up and join the fray.

See USCCB “Fortnight for Freedom” – everyone can pray. 

Do what you can where God has placed you.  The secularists have not won the war yet. Exercise your right to speak up for what you believe.  Silence is consent. 
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An Overview of Specific Examples

Pope Benedict XVI spoke last year about his worry that religious liberty in the United States is being weakened.  He called religious liberty the “most cherished of American freedoms.”  However, unfortunately, our most cherished freedom is under threat.  

Consider the following:

HHS mandate for contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs.  The mandate of the Department of Health and Human Services forces religious institutions to facilitate and fund a product contrary to their own moral teaching.  Further, the federal government tries to define which religious institutions are “religious enough” to merit protection of their religious liberty. 

Catholic foster care and adoption services.  Boston, San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and the State of Illinois have driven local Catholic Charities out of the business of providing adoption or foster care services—by revoking their licenses, by ending their government contracts, or both—because those Charities refused to place children with same-sex couples or unmarried opposite-sex couples who cohabit. 

State immigration laws.  Several states have recently passed laws that forbid what they deem as “harboring” of undocumented immigrants—and what the Church deems Christian charity and pastoral care to these immigrants.

Discrimination against small church congregations.  New York City adopted a policy that barred the Bronx Household of Faith and other churches from renting public schools on weekends for worship services, even though non-religious groups could rent the same schools for many other uses.  Litigation in this case continues. 

Discrimination against Catholic humanitarian services.  After years of excellent performance by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) in administering contract services for victims of human trafficking, the federal government changed its contract specifications to require MRS to provide or refer for contraceptive and abortion services in violation of Catholic teaching. 

Christian students on campus.  In its over-100-year history, the University of California Hastings College of Law has denied student organization status to only one group, the Christian Legal Society, because it required its leaders to be Christian and to abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage.

Forcing religious groups to host same-sex “marriage” or civil union ceremonies.  A New Jersey judge recently found that a Methodist ministry violated state law when the ministry declined to allow two women to hold a “civil union” ceremony on its private property.  Further, a civil rights complaint has been filed against the Catholic Church in Hawaii by a person requesting to use a chapel to hold a same-sex “marriage” ceremony. 

Is our most cherished freedom truly under threat?  Yes, Pope Benedict XVI recognized just last year that various attempts to limit the freedom of religion in the U.S. are particularly concerning.  

The threat to religious freedom is larger than any single case or issue and has its roots in secularism in our culture.  The Holy Father has asked for the laity to have courage to counter secularism that would “delegitimize the Church’s participation in public debate about the issues which are determining the future of American society.”

Link to “Fortnight for Freedom” pdf flyer.