Dear KKIM Family,
May the Peace and Strength of the Lord be with You!
You know you are growing in Christ when things that used to bother you, the things in life that you have no control over, they don’t bother you much at all anymore. That is because you are giving all to the Lord. You are trusting the Lord. If you are constantly bothered, go to your knees and pray and seek a closer relationship with the Lord!
When all is burning down around you……stand firm in the LORD!
To have this inside you, this presence of the Lord is so AWESOME! How do I know?…….I grow into it everyday in my relationship with Jesus Christ!!!
Much to share this morning……..
From Senator Orrin Hatch………….
For almost 35 years, the law of the land has been an explicit prohibition against federal taxpayer dollars being used to pay for elective abortions, known as the Hyde amendment, after the late great Illinois congressman. This is a policy supported by the majority of the American people.
In fact, this hard-fought explicit ban was included in the health care bill that passed the House last year. Regrettably, the Senate did not follow suit and instead passed a bill that would allow hard-earned taxpayer dollars to pay for elective abortion. That is a simple fact. Unfortunately, in a mad rush to secure enough votes, leading House Democrats now intend to take up the Senate-passed bill, arguing that the Senate language prohibits federal funding of abortion. Besides that fact that this simply not true, it also demonstrates the lengths the president and his allies will take to pass this bill against the will of the American people.
Just this week, Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement saying, “Notwithstanding the denials and explanations of its supporters, and unlike the bill approved by the House of Representatives in November, the Senate bill deliberately excludes the language of the Hyde amendment. It expands federal funding and the role of the federal government in the provision of abortion procedures.”
First, the Senate bill allows elective abortions to be offered through the newly-created individual state health insurance exchanges and multi-state health plans administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and through federally-subsidized plans in already-existing community health centers.
Second, there is nothing in this legislation that requires any of these programs to live up to both the spirit and letter of the Hyde amendment that Congress has included each year in spending bills that fund the government. This not only prevents federal funding of elective abortions, but also erects an iron-clad firewall against any private money for abortion being mixed with any federal or state health program receiving federal dollars. This applies, for example, to Medicaid, a health program for the economically disadvantaged that is funded by both federal and state governments. If any resources are used for elective abortions that money must be kept completely separate from Medicaid. This is sound policy that must be maintained.
Regrettably, the Senate-passed bill doesn’t include this firewall. Anyone who doesn’t earn enough money would qualify for a federal subsidy to help pay for their health plan in the state exchanges, including plans offering elective abortion coverage. Some argue that under the Senate-passed bill, federal funding would be “segregated” so no federal money would pay for abortions. But this is a violation of the Hyde amendment, which also prevents the federal funding of insurance that covers elective abortion.
Furthermore, it is entirely possible that there would only be one health plan in any given state that does not include elective abortion. And even if you are opposed, you may well be railroaded into choosing a plan that covers it, because you might be looking for the best plan to treat a sick child or your own health condition.
What’s more, passing a new state law is the only way an individual state could truly ensure that elective abortions are not included in the plans offered through a state insurance exchange. That would be easier in some states than in others, but that’s unfair to those who are morally opposed to federal funding of abortion and happen to live in states where passing such a law would be extremely difficult.
Lastly, under this proposal, community health centers would receive a dedicated stream of money outside the annual congressional process to fund the government which is where the Hyde prohibition is maintained. So that means that for the first time federal money could be used to fund abortion at a community health center.
Those are the facts, and anyone who thinks the Senate abortion language is strong enough should think again. That is because, regardless of one’s position on this controversial issue, it is entirely reasonable to expect that a person who is fundamentally and morally opposed to abortion should not have to sanction its use with their hard-earned tax payer dollars.
Orrin Hatch represents Utah in the United States Senate.
Catholic Church Can Blame Itself for Sex Scandals, Declining Confidence
March 17, 2010 04:43 PM ET | Bonnie Erbe | Permanent Link | Print
By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
If someone set out to destroy the image of the Catholic Church hierarchy as god-like and beyond reproach, that person could not possibly do a better job of destroying that veneer than what is being done by church leaders themselves. Sex scandal after sex scandal after pedophilia scandal has dogged the church leadership for the past two decades or more, and the pope and his close advisers have yet to catch up with how to handle a 21st-century public relations gaffe, much less trying to piece back together the lives of so many people ruined by priests’ actions.
First, there were the priest pedophilia incidents that came to light in the mid-1980s and rocked the American church to the point where whole dioceses filed for bankruptcy as lawsuits for sexual abuse skyrocketed.
Now similar cases seem to be appearing all over Europe, including Germany, where the pope’s own brother is linked to a nasty and growing scandal. According to Reuters:
The scandal there has personally drawn in Bavarian-born Pope Benedict, whose brother ran for 30 years the prestigious Regensburg choir which has been linked to cases of abuse.
The era of technology and instant global communication as well as more openness in government and governance has made it almost impossible for large institutions to hide corruption and scandal as they became used to doing in previous eras. This is not new. And the Catholic Church is far from the only major religion to have been jolted down to the foundation by similar allegations.
The question in my mind is why, after all the evidence of man-made corruption, do the “faithful” continue to be so? Isn’t it obvious that organized religion is completely man-made? Isn’t it obvious that men pervert the power that followers voluntarily give over to them and use it to rape and pillage again and again?
The following comment, also in the Reuters article, emanated from no less than the second-highest-ranking official of the church, Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone. Even he acknowledged that confidence in the church had declined:
“There has been a reduction in faith in all institutions including the Church,” said Bertone, number two in the Vatican hierarchy, after meeting Italian business leaders.
“The Church still enjoys great confidence on the part of the faithful, it is just that someone is trying to undermine that,” he said, without referring directly to the pedophilia scandal. “But the Church has special help, from above.”
Sorry, Mr. Bertone, but no one is trying to “undermine that” more than the priests and church leaders who not only participated in these horrendous acts but conspired to keep them silent
Now from Pastor Don Kimbro………..
Hello everyone,
This is our modest flyer that will be distributed in Willard via their utility bills, and also through the gracious efforts of an 84-year old saint, Peggy Russell, who will also personally deliver to each house. Thank you for your desire to see this dark place enjoy the Light of the Gospel once again (Mt. 4:16). The Village is buzzing by the way, and the devil is getting nervous. May God be praised and Jesus be exalted in the hearts and minds of the people of Willard through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Eze. 36:11
Don
Tune in to “Nuggets of Truth,” on KKIM-AM 1000 and 94.7 FM Radio,
Mon-Fri at 7:30 AM & PM.
We have this from John Robb…good stuff…………
Friends, at age 62 one sometimes succumbs to “senior moments” which I must have done yesterday. It has happened more often than I would like to admit. Just to correct what was sent you earlier. The dates for the Mexico prayer initiative are March 22-23, this coming Monday and Tuesday. Sorry for any confusion caused.
Thanks so much for your prayer support for His liberation to come in this embattled situation in our sister nation.
Warm regards,
John
Dear Friends,
Here is some good news to encourage you. We have been praying for Pakistan and Afghanistan. A Pakistani friend wrote recently to say that the prayer movement in his country continues to expand and there are now around 3000 who pray when they put out an alert. There are other prayer networks as well that have sprung up to intercede for this strategic nation. They like we have been praying about the terrorism issue there, and he reports that the security situation has “quite improved in the past few months”. You have also probably heard reports of the arrest or death of Taliban leaders in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Though we don’t rejoice in the death of anyone, we do thank God that He is answering prayer for the liberation of these two nations from the scourge of the Taliban and Al Qaida. Please pray for a decisive victory and that the strategies of the allied forces in Afghanistan and those of the Pakistani army in their country will be effective. As a prayer leader friend put it, “let’s agree with David for the Lord to break the arm of the wicked (Psalms 10:15) and with Hosea that God may destroy the wicked high places (Hosea 10:18). Pray for protection over the Christian believers, humanitarian agencies and their staff (World Vision just lost 6 staff killed by the Taliban) as well as for the guesthouses where foreigners stay which have been targeted by suicide bombers in recent months.
We can also thank God for the report from Haiti that on February 12, 2010, President Préval of~Haiti called his nation to three days of~fasting and prayer in~place of the regular Mardi Gras celebration. Several of the nation’s Christian leaders arranged this event in which over one million~Haitians~participated. If you like, you can see it on this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30rWm84z-zg. Let’s continue to pray that Haiti will turn from voodoo to serve Jesus Christ and also for the unity of the nation, its humanitarian and economic recovery as well strong commitment by Christian and political leaders within this process.
Morocco needs our prayers. A small but vibrant church movement in the country is now under great pressure because of a heavy clamp-down by the authorities. About 45 foreign workers, some of whom were taking care of an orphanage with 33 children, have been suddenly been kicked out of the country. Pray for a lifting of this oppressive control by the government and that the believers will have continued freedom to worship and serve the Lord without being hassled. Pray too that the foreign believers will be able to return to serve and that the orphan children they had to leave behind will be well taken care of. The orphanage website is http://www.voh-ainleuh.org/ if you want to read more about this situation.
As you must have heard, Mexico is in an all out war with the drug cartels that have killed many public officials, as well as large numbers of the police and army. This conflict has already claimed more than 18,000 lives on both sides over the last three years. Americans along the border area have also been murdered by these ruthless and evil drug lords and their henchmen as again happened in the last couple of days.
These criminals have an estimated $15 to 20 billion dollars worth of revenue from their illicit activities to corrupt just about anyone in public service and to buy the most modern weapons and employ their own armies. There is a definite link with occult powers that needs to be broken as well. (Our prayer initiative teams have observed the same thing many times in other terrible conflict situations around the world. Public officials enter into agreements with the dark realm to get power for themselves, opening the door for the devil to sow destruction in the land through violence and death.)
This coming Monday and Tuesday, March 22 and 23, a special prayer initiative will be held with prayer leaders and some public officials. Some of these same officials have already received death threats from the narco-traffickers. Please pray with us for His guidance and anointing, along with a strong sense of His discernment and authority. Pray too for protection for all of us and our families from any backlash or attack of the evil one and those he controls. Pray that the forces of darkness and violence will be bound and their influence broken over the land and that the government will be able to prevail over the cartels, capturing their leaders and destroying their drug empire.
Thanks for your support in prayer. It will make a huge difference, thanks be to God!
John Robb
International Prayer Council and International Prayer Connect
I thank all who gather here at the CUP for God’s Glory Alone!
We are here to give you the news that effects the Christian way of life.
We must stand strong my friends…….
Let us pray………..Lord thank you for today…….Thank you for this day to serve YOU! In the name of Jesus, AMEN!
In the Love of Christ, Dewey Sharon and family