Dear Deacon, First of all today, please know that everyone affected
by Hurricane Sandy remains in our prayers. Some 40 Days
for Life prayer vigils have been suspended because of
the weather, so please check with your local campaign
coordinators before heading out to pray. At the end of this week, 46 cities will be completing
their first-ever 40 Days for Life campaigns. But whether a city is conducting its first campaign
or its tenth, there are profound effects on the people
praying ... the people they’re praying for ... and the
entire community. Prayers are being answered! Here are some examples.
-----------------------------------------------------
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
----------------------------------------------------- "So far, we've been very blessed with eight babies
saved," the Baton Rouge team reported. There also
seems to be less activity inside the abortion center
since the 40 Days for Life vigil has been under way. "The Delta abortion facility has only seen patients
two times each week for the last two weeks, which
is a big change," said Charlotte in Baton Rouge.
"The new abortionist had been, at times, coming up
to four times per week." She also shared the good news that a pro-life
pregnancy center is opening next door to the abortion
facility, "hopefully with an ultrasound machine in
place very soon." This is the second 40 Days for Life campaign in
Baton Rouge. Charlotte said people are boldly
stepping forward in ways the community has never
seen before. To see a picture from the Baton Rouge vigil, go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=3703
-----------------------------------------------------
DUBUQUE, IOWA
----------------------------------------------------- Tina, the local 40 Days for Life coordinator in
Dubuque, became worried about the people at the vigil
when a huge rainstorm broke out, so she drove by to
check on the volunteers outside Planned Parenthood
to see if they should take shelter. But no one wanted to leave. "They had umbrellas," she
said, "and they were soaked. But despite that, they
had great big smiles on their faces." A bit later, one of the soaking wet volunteers stopped
off at the local right to life office to drop off a
donation -- the profits from a garage sale she had held
the previous weekend. "The prayer at the clinic has been such a great blessing,
not just on those going into the clinic, but also to
those on the front line and those passing by us on the
street," Tina said. "We are so grateful to have this
wonderful event in our city and by God's grace, we are
praying for the clinic to close quickly."
-----------------------------------------------------
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
----------------------------------------------------- Ed in Birmingham says this city's ninth 40 Days for
Life campaign has seen "some very interesting days." As always, there are days where just a few people are
praying at any one time -- but there was one day when
a local church adopted every hour and the sidewalk
was full. This was a day when Planned Parenthood expected a
high number of clients for their pre-abortion visit.
"Alabama has a 24-hour waiting period," Ed explained,
"and before 8:00 am, they began to arrive. But on
this day, God showed us His grace." It seems a number of the women were willing to talk
to the pro-life volunteers -- and even to accompany
them to the nearby pregnancy help center. "Before lunch, we delivered six women away from
Planned Parenthood and to a chance at choosing life.
When the day was done, four of those women chose life
for their child," he said. "Thanks be to God!" To see a picture of the vigil in Birmingham, go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=3703
Here's today's devotional from Carmen Pate, a member
of the 40 Days for Life board of directors.
-----------------------------------------------------
DAY 35 INTENTION
----------------------------------------------------- Pray for post-abortive women who cannot forgive
themselves; may they understand that there is no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
-----------------------------------------------------
SCRIPTURE
----------------------------------------------------- Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sin is covered. Blessed is the one to whom
the Lord shall not impute sin. -- Romans 4:7-8
-----------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION by Carmen Pate, 40 Days for Life
----------------------------------------------------- In the passage above, the Apostle Paul making a point
about justification by faith, refers back to David's
words in Psalm 32:1-2. In spite of the enormity of
David's sin -- adultery with Bathsheba and his murder
of her husband -- and the utter absence of any
personal merit, David in his brokenness, understood
the imputed righteousness of God. David's response
was not continued guilt over his sins, but praise for
his freedom from guilt, and God's power to live life
differently. Once your relationship with God has been restored,
your guilt has served its purpose and should no
longer be given place in your life. This is true
regardless of the sin, including the sin of abortion.
As a post-abortive woman, I too struggled with this
issue until I realized that punishing and hating
myself after receiving God's forgiveness was an
insult to God. It was as though I were minimizing Christ's work on
the cross as insufficient to cover my sin. I was
denying Him the opportunity to bring glory to His
name for the healing and restoration He wanted to do
in my life. I was giving victory to the enemy who
having lost the battle for my soul, was bent on
destroying my testimony as I accepted the continual
guilt he heaped on my mind. It is my joy to continually sing of God's grace
rather than give the devil a foothold in my life.
Don't waste God's mercy! Accept His forgiveness and
forgive yourself as testimony of His amazing grace.
-----------------------------------------------------
PRAYER
----------------------------------------------------- Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for your
amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. I come
against the enemy of my soul who would have me feel
cast down and dejected. Lord, keep your children from falling prey to the
accusations of the father of lies. Turn our mourning
into dancing and may we bring praise to you as we
give testimony of Your healing and restoration in our
lives. For by His grace we are saved, Amen.
-----------------------------------------------------
PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
----------------------------------------------------- To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2012day35print.pdf ---------------------------------------------------- For Life, Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life
PS: Has your community changed during this 40 Days
for Life campaign? Please share your stories by
posting a comment on today's blog entry at: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=3703 40 Days for Life 10908 Courthouse Road
Suite 102229
Fredericksburg, VA
22408
US
by Hurricane Sandy remains in our prayers. Some 40 Days
for Life prayer vigils have been suspended because of
the weather, so please check with your local campaign
coordinators before heading out to pray. At the end of this week, 46 cities will be completing
their first-ever 40 Days for Life campaigns. But whether a city is conducting its first campaign
or its tenth, there are profound effects on the people
praying ... the people they’re praying for ... and the
entire community. Prayers are being answered! Here are some examples.
-----------------------------------------------------
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
----------------------------------------------------- "So far, we've been very blessed with eight babies
saved," the Baton Rouge team reported. There also
seems to be less activity inside the abortion center
since the 40 Days for Life vigil has been under way. "The Delta abortion facility has only seen patients
two times each week for the last two weeks, which
is a big change," said Charlotte in Baton Rouge.
"The new abortionist had been, at times, coming up
to four times per week." She also shared the good news that a pro-life
pregnancy center is opening next door to the abortion
facility, "hopefully with an ultrasound machine in
place very soon." This is the second 40 Days for Life campaign in
Baton Rouge. Charlotte said people are boldly
stepping forward in ways the community has never
seen before. To see a picture from the Baton Rouge vigil, go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=3703
-----------------------------------------------------
DUBUQUE, IOWA
----------------------------------------------------- Tina, the local 40 Days for Life coordinator in
Dubuque, became worried about the people at the vigil
when a huge rainstorm broke out, so she drove by to
check on the volunteers outside Planned Parenthood
to see if they should take shelter. But no one wanted to leave. "They had umbrellas," she
said, "and they were soaked. But despite that, they
had great big smiles on their faces." A bit later, one of the soaking wet volunteers stopped
off at the local right to life office to drop off a
donation -- the profits from a garage sale she had held
the previous weekend. "The prayer at the clinic has been such a great blessing,
not just on those going into the clinic, but also to
those on the front line and those passing by us on the
street," Tina said. "We are so grateful to have this
wonderful event in our city and by God's grace, we are
praying for the clinic to close quickly."
-----------------------------------------------------
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
----------------------------------------------------- Ed in Birmingham says this city's ninth 40 Days for
Life campaign has seen "some very interesting days." As always, there are days where just a few people are
praying at any one time -- but there was one day when
a local church adopted every hour and the sidewalk
was full. This was a day when Planned Parenthood expected a
high number of clients for their pre-abortion visit.
"Alabama has a 24-hour waiting period," Ed explained,
"and before 8:00 am, they began to arrive. But on
this day, God showed us His grace." It seems a number of the women were willing to talk
to the pro-life volunteers -- and even to accompany
them to the nearby pregnancy help center. "Before lunch, we delivered six women away from
Planned Parenthood and to a chance at choosing life.
When the day was done, four of those women chose life
for their child," he said. "Thanks be to God!" To see a picture of the vigil in Birmingham, go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=3703
Here's today's devotional from Carmen Pate, a member
of the 40 Days for Life board of directors.
-----------------------------------------------------
DAY 35 INTENTION
----------------------------------------------------- Pray for post-abortive women who cannot forgive
themselves; may they understand that there is no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
-----------------------------------------------------
SCRIPTURE
----------------------------------------------------- Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sin is covered. Blessed is the one to whom
the Lord shall not impute sin. -- Romans 4:7-8
-----------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION by Carmen Pate, 40 Days for Life
----------------------------------------------------- In the passage above, the Apostle Paul making a point
about justification by faith, refers back to David's
words in Psalm 32:1-2. In spite of the enormity of
David's sin -- adultery with Bathsheba and his murder
of her husband -- and the utter absence of any
personal merit, David in his brokenness, understood
the imputed righteousness of God. David's response
was not continued guilt over his sins, but praise for
his freedom from guilt, and God's power to live life
differently. Once your relationship with God has been restored,
your guilt has served its purpose and should no
longer be given place in your life. This is true
regardless of the sin, including the sin of abortion.
As a post-abortive woman, I too struggled with this
issue until I realized that punishing and hating
myself after receiving God's forgiveness was an
insult to God. It was as though I were minimizing Christ's work on
the cross as insufficient to cover my sin. I was
denying Him the opportunity to bring glory to His
name for the healing and restoration He wanted to do
in my life. I was giving victory to the enemy who
having lost the battle for my soul, was bent on
destroying my testimony as I accepted the continual
guilt he heaped on my mind. It is my joy to continually sing of God's grace
rather than give the devil a foothold in my life.
Don't waste God's mercy! Accept His forgiveness and
forgive yourself as testimony of His amazing grace.
-----------------------------------------------------
PRAYER
----------------------------------------------------- Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for your
amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. I come
against the enemy of my soul who would have me feel
cast down and dejected. Lord, keep your children from falling prey to the
accusations of the father of lies. Turn our mourning
into dancing and may we bring praise to you as we
give testimony of Your healing and restoration in our
lives. For by His grace we are saved, Amen.
-----------------------------------------------------
PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
----------------------------------------------------- To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2012day35print.pdf ---------------------------------------------------- For Life, Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life
PS: Has your community changed during this 40 Days
for Life campaign? Please share your stories by
posting a comment on today's blog entry at: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=3703 40 Days for Life 10908 Courthouse Road
Suite 102229
Fredericksburg, VA
22408
US
