Please pray for Coptic Christians preparing to elect Pope

Peanut Gallery: For most of the “Arab Spring,” Coptic Christians have been without a spititual leader. These are perilous times. Coptic Christians live under continual Islamist threat in Egypt. The latest riots only aggravate their already precarious position.

After the death of Pope Shenouda III in March, Coptic Christians are preparing to elect a new Pope in December. As the article below notes, it is not an enviable position.

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5.1-5 ESV

Please pray that the Holy Spirit would guide and direct the election process for the new Coptic Pope… that he would a man chosen by God and an effective shepherd of God’s people.

The article below (The Christian Post) puts this election process in context –

New Coptic Christian Pope to Be Number One Target of Radical Islamists?
By Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter – September 14, 2012|4:11 pm

Egypt’s Coptic Christians are getting ready to vote on a new pope in December to replace the deceased Pope Shenouda III who died in March – but some are worried that choosing a new Christian leader in the region may only incite more violence from their Muslim neighbors.

“A new pope will not offer any additional protection for the Egyptian Christians. In fact the election may well incite Muslims to more violence. The last thing they want is any hope or solidarity among ‘infidels.’ The new pope could certainly find himself the new #1 target,” said Christian Freedom International (CFI) in a statement emailed to The Christian Post. Continue reading “Please pray for Coptic Christians preparing to elect Pope” →

Morning Reading: John 13.12-15 NLT

After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.” John 13.12-15 NLT

More Good News – Victory: Nurses Allowed to Stand for Life

Peanut Gallery: – Special thanks to Terry at 8kids and a business and the folks at Biltrix for bringing this to my attention – check out their blogs, it will be well worth your time. And thanks too for the folks at the ACLJ for fighting the good fight and winning one for Life. Please click on their link – here.

ImageImagine you are a nurse. Imagine you have undergone extensive education and training and have chosen to specialize in assisting laboring women to safely deliver their babies. Now imagine that you arrive at work one day only to be informed that if you are not willing to participate in procedures that end the lives of those babies, you will no longer be permitted to work in your chosen field of labor and delivery. One group of nurses at a large West Coast hospital didn’t have to imagine this scenario — they lived it.

When these nurses first contacted us, their hospital’s Labor & Delivery Unit had recently been placed under the direction of a staunchly pro-abortion doctor, Continue reading “More Good News – Victory: Nurses Allowed to Stand for Life” →

Good News: Answered Prayer – Youcef Nadarkhani Freed from Iranian Prison

Peanut Gallery:Youcef Nadarkhani Thanks Praying Supporters, God After Being Freed From Iranian Prison – Please click on link to read full story from the Christian Post | Middle East –
Youcef Nadarkhani Thanks Praying Supporters, God After Being Freed From Iranian Prison#rggjxMoYv1F1Q52v.99.

Youcef Nadarkhani’s Sept. 8, 2012 “Thank You Letter” in Full:

Not to us, LORD, not to us, but to Your Name be glory, for Your faithfulness, for Your loyalty… Psalm 115:1

Salaam ! (Peace be upon you !)

I glorify and give grace to the Lord with all my heart. I am grateful for all the blessings that He gave me during my whole life. I am especially grateful for His goodness and divine protection that characterized the time of my detention.

I also want to express my gratitude towards those who, all around the world, have worked for my cause, or should I say the cause that I defend. I want to express my gratitude to all of those who have supported me, openly or in complete secrecy. You are all very dear to my heart. May the Lord bless you and give you His perfect and sovereign Grace.

Indeed I have been put to the test, the test of faith which is, according to the Scriptures « more precious than perishable gold ». Continue reading “Good News: Answered Prayer – Youcef Nadarkhani Freed from Iranian Prison” →

Morning Reading: John 12.44-46 ESV

And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”
John 12.44-46 ESV