The Ominous Handwriting on America’s Wall

Thank you, Lee

The Ominous Handwriting on America’s Wall

Stay the Course!

I've been inquiring of the Lord the orders for the day.  One of several things He has placed on my heart is "STAY THE COURSE."  We are obviously in times of testing, transition and struggle.  The drought (though we have witnessed rain in portions of Texas) is still strongly embedded.  Our economy is in shambles.  Natural disasters - earthquakes and hurricanes have center stage. The political arena is intensifying.  What would you have us do, Lord? 

STAY THE COURSE!

I revisited our vision statement for the Texas Apostolic Prayer Network.  It states: "TXAPN desires to see the redemptive gifts and anointings of the State of Texas flow freely. We desire the people, the history, the culture, and the destiny of the State of Texas to be transformed as the Lord is enthroned in our midst. TXAPN is a statewide and regionwide network of intercessors committed to this call!"

The last statement is the most profound.  We are a network of intercessors committed to pray for Texas and the Nation.  We are called to pray!  And we pray that the redemptive gifts and anointing of Texas is released.  What does that mean?

Luke, in the book of Acts writes: "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being..." (Acts 17:24-28a).

Believe it or not, God determined the boundaries and destiny of Texas and all of its citizens. (And by the way, it reads "every nation of men"). And He did it in order to for people to seek Him and to be embraced with His love, mercy, righteousness, joy, salvation and grace.  God loves Texas.  He desires Texas to be a blessing to the nation and nations. He is our gracious and merciful Lord, Savior and King.  When He is seated on His throne (enthroned) over us, we experience all those above mentioned attributes.

Reign over us, Lord.  Show Your mercy.  Reveal Your truth and righteousness.  Overcome evil with Your goodness.  We will persevere in prayer.  We will walk out our prayers as representatives of Your love and grace.  WE WILL STAY THE COURSE!

The Fullness of Deception

This morning I was reading Nehemiah 6 as a part of my daily Bible readings.  In my blogs, over the last few months, I have been sharing about new times, new vision and new connections.  We are witnessing new doors of opportunity that the Lord has opened before us.  We have been instructed on the threshing process which prepares the Lord's body for His work.  And what is that work?  We are to be His ambassadors of light, mercy, truth, love and goodness in a world that is floundering in darkness, hopelessness, fear and anger.

In Nehemiah, we witness this same scenario of darkness as the walls of Jerusalem were in shambles, and the people were fearful and vulnerable.  Nehemiah was sent by God to oversee the building of new walls and gates.  The enemies were persistent in their attempts to halt his work.  I wrote about some of these attempts in Chapter 13 of my book, Keeper of the Keys.

The Fullness of Deception
   
At the beginning of Nehemiah 6 we once again we hear about Sanballat and Tobiah—the persistence of our enemy.

Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, "Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono." But they thought to do me harm. (Nehemiah 6:1, 2)
   
Come—let us meet together.  The greatest scheme of the enemy is compromise.  Let’s talk about this—there must be something we can do to work out our differences. It’s sounds good—but in God’s realm there is no compromising with the enemy. NOTE: I’m not talking here about two friends, spouses, co-workers or such that are working out differences of opinion.  We are talking about compromising the kingdom.

So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?" But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner. (Nehemiah 6:3,4)
   
Nehemiah won’t compromise.  He won’t waste his time on talking with the enemy.  We live in a world defined by political correctness, compromise and tolerance. As I stated earlier, these words are not always bad when we are trying to work wounded relationships.  But as we deal with the enemy of our souls – these are deadly.  The enemy is persistent.  The enemy wants nothing more than to kill, steal and destroy. You don’t compromise with evil.  You don’t arrange deals or trades with the enemy or any of his tactics. 
   
I remember a weekend I was serving on a weekend prayer team.  As the pastor on the team I was there to give them spiritual direction.  We were praying for a group of people going through an intense spiritual weekend of their own.  At one point we were praying for one of the leaders speaking at the other retreat.  He was very sick.  We were praying for his healing when one of my team members declared.  This person can not be sick.  If anyone needs to be sick – let it be me.  I will take their sickness and I give them my health.  To say the least I jumped on that immediately.  We do not trade with the enemy. We make no deals with the enemy. 

Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. In it was written: “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, "There is a king in Judah!" Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together. (Nehemiah 6:6, 7)
   
Sanballat cried out, “It is reported—you are intolerant, you are hard headed, you are a fundamentalist, you are a rebel.  You are going to be reported.” Isn’t it intriguing that in the midst of deception the enemy is going to serve notice to the king.  This king is the one who trusted and sent Nehemiah.  The goal is not truth—but defeat.

Then I sent to him, saying, "No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart." For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, "Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done." Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. (Nehemiah 6:8, 9)
   
Nehemiah perceived the problem and once again went to God. We now reach the final ploy.

Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you." And I said, "Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!" Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid. (Nehemiah 6:10-14).
   
Let’s go to the temple and close the doors—secrecy and deception. Nehemiah because of a close intimate and communing relationship with God perceived the deception.  He once again turned his enemies over to God.*

The greatest testimony of this story is recorded in Nehemiah 6:16: "And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God."  This is our heritage as well.  Keep up the work.  Press on!  Build those walls of righteousness, hope, love, faith, mercy and goodness that protects all of us under the mighty hand of our loving God.


*Used by permission from publisher and author.

A Family Gathered to Celebrate!

Last weekend I was not able to attend the The Response in its entirety.  For almost a year we had been planning a celebration for my dad's 90th birthday.  The entire family from Texas, Massachusetts and Missouri was able to gather.  What a heritage!  Happy Birthday, Dad!  Mom celebrated her 87th in April!  Four generations gathered in Fredericksburg!  And by the way - we joined hands and hearts in prayer.  We responded as a family to or Governor's call to pray!

The Schlueter Family - August 6, 2011 - Fredericksburg, Texas

The Response Playback

Watch the entire playback of The Response by going to The Response website.

Governor Rick Perry's prayer during The Response

"Lord, You are the source of every good thing, You are our only hope. And we stand before You today in awe of your power, and in gratitude for Your blessings; in humility for our sins.

Father, our heart breaks for America. We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see anger in the halls of government. And as a nation we have forgotten Who made us, Who protects us, Who blesses us, and for that we cry out for Your forgiveness.

We pray for our nation’s leaders, Lord -- for parents, for pastors, for the generals, for governors -- that You would inspire them in these difficult times. Father, we pray for our president, that You would impart Your wisdom upon him, that You would guard his family. We pray for our military and the families who love them. Father, especially for those special operators who lost their life yesterday in defending our freedoms.

You call us to repent, Lord, and this day is our response. We give it all to You. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen and amen."

Governor Perry at The Response!

Governor Perry at The Response!

More Thoughts!

Oh well.  I thought yesterday's blog was the last of "daily blogs" for awhile, but not so.  As I was waking up this morning (got to sleep late after a full weekend), I felt there was something more that needed to be stated about God's intentions.

The big question seems to be: "When will this drought end?"  Personally, I believe and declare that it is ending but I need to remember that the last fifty days was not about "breaking a drought" but about passionately kneeling  before our Lord as people hungry and thirsty only for Him.  He wants our full attention.  This is about Him and His kingdom.  As powerful as The Response was - it was not intended to be just a one-day spectacular event.

And then I read a word sent this morning by Ginny Bryan (TXAPN Council Member from Waskom):

"Yesterday morning as I stood in the kitchen the Lord stopped me mid stride and said, "I am going to turn up the heat".  I felt this was not in the context of actual temperatures but in events that will cause pressure.  I also heard him say, "It is not the faithful remnant's attention I am going to get.  I will cause every knee to bow. "  I could see in the spirit that when there is no place else to go even those who do not, or will not, believe will have to come to him.

I meditated most of the day yesterday on the fact that the Hebrews who lived among the Egyptians as slaves had to endure the pressure of the plagues but in the end the Father did not allow death to touch them.  They came out and through whole, healthy and carrying the treasures of Egypt.  But I bet they sure didn't like going through all of that stuff either.

Can hardly wait to get to the other side of whatever is coming.

"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father "(Philippians 2:9-11).

P.S. For a great report on the response - go to Joel Rosenberg.

A Statewide Call to Pray - The Day After

The body of Christ gathered in Houston.  The numbers were over 30,000.  Over 1000 different ministries and churches registered.  Untold thousands witnessed the event via internet and direct TV.

I personally witnessed the presence of all races - Native American, Black, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Anglo.  I met people from every major continent.  As I walked into Reliant Stadium a little after 8 am, I was immediately struck by the sense of anticipation, excitement, unity and worship.  This was truly an assembly of the saints.  I have been to lot of large church gatherings - but this truly represented our Lord's church.

Because of a previously scheduled family gathering (my entire family from Texas, Massachusetts, and Missouri gathered in Fredericksburg, Texas to celebrate my dad's 90th birthday), I had to leave The Response early about 11:00 am.  As I left, hundreds of people were streaming into every door.  There was an alluring by our Lord to be drawn into His presence for a time of worship, repentance, fellowship, forgiveness and prayer.

As I was driving west out of Houston, Ken Bryan of Waskom, Texas called me and informed that Governor Perry was speaking.  I was able to hear him as He read from God's Word and prayed.  Tears were rolling down my eyes.  I kept on hearing in my spirit, "This is the tipping point."  Many well known and not so known names of the church gathered to pray on the platform yesterday, but it was the courageous faith and actions of our Governor that tipped the scales.  He lead us to the throne of God.  Many protested his involvement but he did nothing different than kings, presidents, governors and statesmen of the past had done. Our nation is in crisis and he responded.  I think it was significant that as I heard Governor Perry's voice over the phone that I was driving by San Felipe, Texas, where Stephen F. Austin first established, by God's grace, a settlement in Texas.  Read my blog about San Felipe - especially Branch Archer's comments.

Early that evening, our family gathered around a dinner table in Fredericksburg, and like hundreds of thousands of others - we joined hands and responded to the call to pray.  We humbled ourselves under the mighty hand of God and asked for His mercy upon our nation.  The best way I can summarize yesterday is this: "We met with our God.  We were called to pray and re responded."  Now we break through into His promises.  Yes, that will include rain!

A Statewide Call to Pray - Our Response!

Today - wherever you are - RESPOND to the LORD!

Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: 

“I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 

if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 

Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 

2 Chronicles 7:12-16

A Statewide Call to Pray - Day Forty-Nine

Tomorrow is the day!  The Lord wants to deal with the heart of our state and nation.  We will gather at The Response in Houston to allow Him to pierce our hearts with His love and mercy.  Lord, we desire to draw near to You based on Your covenant with us! 

We gather here today as citizens of the United States of America and as citizens of God’s Kingdom. Our American citizenship being conferred to us by mutual place of birth and residence in God’s providence; our Heavenly citizenship being purchased for us by the finished work of Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross in which we corporately trust. We recognize that as members of both this earthly and heavenly kingdom, it is our sacred duty and trust to bridge the gap between our nation and the Almighty. It has fallen to us, and to our watch, to bear witness of His righteous judgments in the face of impending calamity. We now endeavor to sound the trumpet of a watchman thus commissioned by God and stationed upon the ramparts of our great nation. (Ezekiel 33:1-7)

On behalf of our national sins and to any degree in which we have personally partaken we do now repent for:

The Sin of Arrogance and Indifference towards Israel: With chagrin do we attest that the policies of our nation have been in stark contradiction to your scriptural principals regarding your posterity, Israel. Our elected officials mediating on our behalf have continuously attempted to coerce Israel into giving their land into the hands of those who openly declare themselves their enemies. We recognize that it is You, O Lord, who has determined in your Divine Word the boundaries of this ancient and re-born nation. In light of this, neither we nor our government have the authority to demand that Israel give away what you have gifted. In this we have acted presumptuously.

In addition we have remained silent in the face of the deafening cries for the destruction of the Jewish people and their nation which echo from city squares and government halls across the earth. As the Body of Christ we have sinned against Your covenant people as well. By both denying that the covenant made with Israel is eternal and by declaring that the Jewish people need not salvation, we have gravely erred. We have also seen as outcasts those whom are both of Jewish ancestry and believers in our common Messiah, Jesus. The Church shortly after its inception, throughout its history, and even through the reformation, has given itself over to a spirit of anti-Semitism. Willfully have we instituted and enforced the schism between Jewish and Gentile believers. Forcefully has the Church sought to separate itself from the Jewish believers who duly served as a light to the nations, bringing them the Word of God and the revelation of the Gospel. Further, many of the worst atrocities committed against the Jewish people were encouraged, accepted, perpetrated or ignored by Christians. In these things we have sinned against You O God, who are in fact a keeper of all Thy covenants. Genesis 12:3; 15:8 – Numbers 34: 2-15 – Joel 3:1-3 – Zechariah 2:8 – John 17 – Romans 11 – Ephesians 2

Lord we are guilty; we beseech You to have mercy!

Tomorrow, August 6th, we will gather to confess with our mouths the sins of our nation. As You O Lord are the Author and Judge of heavenly Law, it is only Thee who has the right to choose between judgment and mercy. On behalf of our nation, we ask You Lord to consider mercy.

A Statewide Call to Pray - Day Forty-Eight!

The Lord wants to deal with the heart of our state and nation.  In just a few days we will gather at The Response in Houston to allow Him to pierce our hearts with His love and mercy.

In preparation for that day I would like us to journey through a declaration of repentance that I first read two years ago on Friday, July 31, 2009.  The next few days we will walk through this declaration:

We gather here today as citizens of the United States of America and as citizens of God’s Kingdom. Our American citizenship being conferred to us by mutual place of birth and residence in God’s providence; our Heavenly citizenship being purchased for us by the finished work of Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross in which we corporately trust. We recognize that as members of both this earthly and heavenly kingdom, it is our sacred duty and trust to bridge the gap between our nation and the Almighty. It has fallen to us, and to our watch, to bear witness of His righteous judgments in the face of impending calamity. We now endeavor to sound the trumpet of a watchman thus commissioned by God and stationed upon the ramparts of our great nation. (Ezekiel 33:1-7)

On behalf of our national sins and to any degree in which we have personally partaken we do now repent for:

The Sin of Arrogance and Indifference towards the Poor: With humiliation do we admit that we have failed to embody the purest form of religion – to minister to orphans and widows in their distress. Our appetite for personal convenience has become louder than the innate pang we feel when looking upon a fellow man in the hour of his great need. We have preferred those of ample means while trampling those with meager. In doing so we practically deny the existence of Our Just Creator supposing that we will not be held to account for the compassion we have shown to all of Your creatures. For the sin of neglecting the poor, of selfishly hoarding the gifts that You freely give, and of arrogance against those who have been made stewards over less, we repent. Exodus 22:5 – Leviticus 25:35 – Deuteronomy 15:7 – Amos 4:1-2 – Matthew 19:21 – James 1:27; 2:1-9

Lord we are guilty; we beseech You to have mercy!

A Statewide Call to Pray - Day Forty-Seven!

The Lord wants to deal with the heart of our state and nation.  In just a few days we will gather at The Response in Houston to allow Him to pierce our hearts with His love and mercy.

In preparation for that day I would like us to journey through a declaration of repentance that I first read two years ago on Friday, July 31, 2009.  The next few days we will walk through this declaration:

We gather here today as citizens of the United States of America and as citizens of God’s Kingdom. Our American citizenship being conferred to us by mutual place of birth and residence in God’s providence; our Heavenly citizenship being purchased for us by the finished work of Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross in which we corporately trust. We recognize that as members of both this earthly and heavenly kingdom, it is our sacred duty and trust to bridge the gap between our nation and the Almighty. It has fallen to us, and to our watch, to bear witness of His righteous judgments in the face of impending calamity. We now endeavor to sound the trumpet of a watchman thus commissioned by God and stationed upon the ramparts of our great nation. (Ezekiel 33:1-7)

On behalf of our national sins and to any degree in which we have personally partaken we do now repent for:

The Sin of Hypocrisy: With great shame do we confess our profound tendency to allow our speech and our actions to suffer violence one against the other. For allowing ourselves to be called by Your Name while casually denying the responsibility of that calling, we repent. On behalf of the Body of Christ we repent for the sins of preaching purity yet refusing to abstain from immorality; for speaking unity but demonstrating competition and judgment among our fellow saints; and thinking more highly of ourselves then we ought.  Above all we repent for allowing Your Name, O God, to be defamed by those who neither know you nor your Son, on account of our actions. Matthew 6:1-5 – Matthew 23:28 – Romans 12:9 – 1 Peter 2:1

Lord we are guilty; we beseech You to have mercy!

A Statewide Call to Pray - Day Forty-Six!

The Lord wants to deal with the heart of our state and nation.  In just a few days we will gather at The Response in Houston to allow Him to pierce our hearts with His love and mercy.

In preparation for that day I would like us to journey through a declaration of repentance that I first read two years ago on Friday, July 31, 2009.  The next few days we will walk through this declaration:

We gather here today as citizens of the United States of America and as citizens of God’s Kingdom. Our American citizenship being conferred to us by mutual place of birth and residence in God’s providence; our Heavenly citizenship being purchased for us by the finished work of Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross in which we corporately trust. We recognize that as members of both this earthly and heavenly kingdom, it is our sacred duty and trust to bridge the gap between our nation and the Almighty. It has fallen to us, and to our watch, to bear witness of His righteous judgments in the face of impending calamity. We now endeavor to sound the trumpet of a watchman thus commissioned by God and stationed upon the ramparts of our great nation. (Ezekiel 33:1-7)

On behalf of our national sins and to any degree in which we have personally partaken we do now repent for: The Sins of Sexual Immorality. 

With a heavy heart we acknowledge that our nation has opened its arms to embrace practices which You abhor, oh Lord. We admit that in our vain imaginings we Your creation, have sought to unseat You Our Creator, and determine for ourselves proper relations within Your divine order. We confess that rather than being zealous for Your Name and Your Laws oh God, we have instead become complacent and allowed unrighteous men and women to chart our path towards cultural acceptance of these obscene deviations. Further, as the Body of Christ we repent for calling “good” what You have called “evil.” We determine from this point forward not to give utterance to any justification of practices that You have deemed unjustifiable. For the sins of homosexuality, adultery, fornication, pornography and promiscuity we do now repent on behalf of ourselves and our nation. (1 Corinthians 6:9 – 1 Timothy 1-10 – Leviticus 20:13 – Romans 13:13 – 1 Thessalonians 4:3)

Lord we are guilty; we beseech You to have mercy!

The Response

Sharing a letter sent out by Alice Patterson of Justice at the Gate regarding The Response.

Dear Friends,

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s historic national call to prayer and fasting, The Response: For a Nation in crisis, is this Saturday, August 6, when Americans from across the nation will join together on our knees in Reliant Stadium in Houston to repent and pray in one accord to God Almighty for our nation.  The doors open at 8 am.  The program is from 10 am to 5 pm. Hear Gov. Perry’s personal invitation here: www.theresponseusa.com.

There have been legitimate questions and some accusations about The Response.  I’ll attempt to answer some of them here.

• Is there a charge to attend or to park? There is no charge to attend, but please visit www.theresponseusa.com and click on REGISTER to register your group to attend.  There is a $15 cash charge for parking at Reliant Stadium. 

• Is this political? No.  Gov. Perry approached a friend about filling a stadium with Americans praying and fasting in December.  It took several months to find a location.  First they tried Cowboy Stadium in Arlington but finally secured Reliant Stadium in Houston.  I think the name is significant – Reliant – reliant upon God!  Doug Stringer, founder of Somebody Cares International based in Houston (www.somebodycares.org), had prayed about a Joel 2 Solemn Assembly for two years.  When he got a call about The Response, Doug knew the time was right.

Here is Tom Billings, Director of Missions for the Houston Baptist Association of churches, speaking with first-hand knowledge about The Response.

Tom Billings

Rev. Carolyn Gilbert, founder of Missionaries with the Vision endorses The Response:

Rev. Carolyn Gilbert

• Will Gov. Perry announce a run for President at The Response? No – absolutely not! The Response will be prayer, repentance worship and scripture reading.  Although Gov. Perry will have a few minutes on the program, his words will be about prayer, fasting and an appeal to the Lord, calling on our Father in the name of Jesus in unity with all gathered to forgive our sins.

There will be at least two other Governors on the platform praying or reading scripture. There will be no political speeches, which would be illegal for a 501(c) 3 organization to have. There will be some food sold for those who have to eat and lots of bottled water for the thousands who will be fasting.   There will be no booths to pass out literature, no sermons and no offering. The Governor initiated the event, but he's not planning it. It's prayer people that are doing the program.  And thousands of Christians will travel to Houston to get on their knees before the Lord and cry out to our Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in unity. It's not a theological unity or a political unity but an agreement in PRAYER and FASTING that God is our only hope.

• When I look at The Endorsers and organizers of The Response, I can find some people that I don’t agree with theologically.  Is Gov. Perry endorsing all these different theological views?  Should I participate if I don’t agree with everyone who has endorsed The Response? Gov. Perry is not endorsing the Endorsers and the Endorsers are not endorsing Gov. Perry.  They’re endorsing a call to prayer and fasting that an elected official initiated. See the diversity here.  http://theresponseusa.com/honorary-co-chairs.php

Below is a portion of a response that Dr. Richard Land, noted Southern Baptist leader, penned in answer to the above concerns:

Christians don’t require unanimity on every point to agree that coming together to pray for repentance and blessing upon a nation in crisis is both proper and prudent. Those participating in The Response have serious and justifiable concerns about the state of the culture and America’s very future. As president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s moral and social concerns entity, I often work alongside others who agree on addressing an ethical issue, but whose faith principles may be somewhat at odds with mine. In fact, my denomination’s confession of faith, the Baptist Faith and Message addresses this matter: “Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth” (BFM, XV. The Christian and the Social Order)….

Finally, at the very least The Response’s divergent group of endorsers demonstrates that evangelical Christians are a much less homogenous, monolithic group than the mainstream media has often asserted. Richard Land | Jul 14, 2011 3:31 PM

• Headlines from a Christian newsletter states, “News reports reveal that on July 22nd, Governor Perry stated that he has no problem with gay marriage in New York. Are pro-family leaders that have agreed with boycotting secular companies for their support of gay marriage now going to be consistent and boycott Perry's prayer event?”  Should Christians boycott The Response?  No.  We are not asking for agreement on issues, theology or political parties.  We’re agreeing in prayer. However, on the issue of marriage, Kelly Shackelford, president of Liberty Institute, which is the Texas affiliate for Focus on the Family, states, “Gov. Perry has always supported the Federal Marriage Amendment. That’s never changed. It’s been public. He was trying to say, but maybe not well, that he favors the Federal Marriage Amendment and that is consistent with the 10th Amendment.”

Below is a link to an article from Christian Broadcasting Network to help clear up the marriage issue.
http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2011/07/28/rick-perry-gay-marriage-is-not-fine-with-me.aspx

• I heard that an atheist group filed suit against Gov. Perry for initiating and talking about The Response?  Will the atheists succeed? No.  On July 28, a federal judge kicked the lawsuit out of court.  See: “Huge Win for Free Speech! Judge Tosses Lawsuit Against Texas Governor and Prayer Rally” below:

http://www.libertylegal.org/current_cases.php?category=6&article=224

In closing, let me ask for your prayers -- for those working on The Response, for the Endorsers, for those mobilizing for it all over the nation and for Gov. Perry. There is a price to pay for standing and calling the nation to prayer and for aligning yourselves with such a call. People you and I love and trust have been drug through the mud by Rachel Maddow and others on the left. I apologize for this one, but you need to see that the attack is not just against Gov. Perry and those of us working on The Response.  It's against the Lord.  If you don’t want to see and hear Colbert’s vulgarity, disregard this.  Watch the video only at your own risk and only if you cover your heart and mind because of the vulgarity:
http://blog.chron.com/believeitornot/2011/07/colbert-wants-to-see-a-perry-god-ticket/

May the Lord forgive us and have mercy on those who have no fear of God. Texas has been in extreme drought.  Although there has been rain in several places across the state, wildfires still burn in many parts of the state.  I wouldn't be the least surprised if it rains and breaks the drought and if the Lord places a rainbow over the gathering of believers humbling themselves before the Lord and confessing our reliance upon God alone in Reliant Stadium.

• How can I find transportation from my area? There are buses going from many cities – Lufkin, Tyler, Center, Del Rio, the Rio Grande Valley, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and many other places.  I don’t have all the information.  There is still room in San Antonio through Cornerstone Church.  A $30 ticket much be purchased in advance.  Call 210-490-1600 to set up a pick-up and payment time.  In the Metroplex, contact Dr. Shirley Clark at Jabez Prayer Network at jabeznetwork@tx.rr.com or (972) 424-2074.  Take your church vans, car pool and make the trip to Houston! 

• What are the most important three words for this national call to prayer?  Just show up!  By showing up in Houston, you will be making a statement: “I’m crossing denominational, racial and political lines to call upon God Almighty.  My prayers may not be heard by the media or anyone else around me, but the Lord will hear.  I’m turning my back on the controversy and accusations to turn my face to our Father, who is in heaven, to hallow His name and to ask the Lord to forgive us personally and corporately.  May our demonstration of humility, worship and intercession bless the Lord and may He hear from heaven and forgive our sins.

A huge thanks to all who have worked tirelessly to mobilize your area and to pray for The Response.  So many of you have tapped your relationships and used your influence to encourage your networks to attend The Response.  Every email and phone call is appreciated.  I pray even now that plans will be changed to be in Houston.  It’s a date with destiny.

Live streaming will be available at www.theresponseusa.com beginning at 9 am CT on August 6.

Gratefully,

Alice Patterson
 - President
Justice at the Gate
 

P.S.  Here’s what a Jewish rabbi wrote in The Texas Jewish Post, Thursday, July 28 2011. 

Be encouraged! Don’t feel threatened by Perry’s prayer day.

To the Editor,
On Aug. 6, 2011, Texas Governor Rick Perry will host “A Call To Prayer,” an all-day Christian fast and prayer service at Reliant Stadium in Houston, seeking Divine assistance for the health, security and prosperity of our nation. As a rabbi, I was touched by his public recognition of the limited role government can play in fixing problems rooted in the spirit, self-centered values and near-sighted vision. Free pills can’t fix soul-ills. Prayer and fasting—improving ourselves as a means to improve the world around us—is a basic tenet of the Judeo-Christian creed that has made America exceptional in deed, why it has selflessly helped nations in need. It is why America rebuilt Europe after WWII and why it has rebuilt parts of the Middle East as part of its war on radical Islamic terror. It is these values that secularists find most alarming. It is the spirit of this country, the Judeo-Christian value system which inspires the Heartland, that they seek to downplay, discourage and disengage.
Dear Governor, may God find favor in your prayer and may this nation be protected from threats within and without, achieving deliverance that only God can bring about.
Rabbi Yaakov Rosenblatt, Dallas

A Statewide Call to Prayer! Day Forty-Five!!

In C.S. Lewis' classic The Chronicles of Narnia, there is a scene in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader where the character Eustace is faced by Aslan the lion (Christ).  Eustace is arrogant and independent.  He complains and whines.  Through an act of greed he has been transformed into a dragon.  His redemption is in the hands (claws) of Aslan.   One portion reads,

"Then the lion said -- but I don't know if it spoke --'You will have to let me undress you.' I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it. "The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff (the dragon hide) peel off."(Emphasis added, C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, page 65)

The Lord wants to deal with the heart of our state and nation.  In just a few days we will gather at The Response in Houston to allow Him to pierce our hearts with His love and mercy.

In preparation for that day I would like us to journey through a declaration of repentance that I first read two years ago on Friday, July 31, 2009.  The next few days we will walk through this declaration:

We gather here today as citizens of the United States of America and as citizens of God’s Kingdom. Our American citizenship being conferred to us by mutual place of birth and residence in God’s providence; our Heavenly citizenship being purchased for us by the finished work of Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross in which we corporately trust. We recognize that as members of both this earthly and heavenly kingdom, it is our sacred duty and trust to bridge the gap between our nation and the Almighty. It has fallen to us, and to our watch, to bear witness of His righteous judgments in the face of impending calamity. We now endeavor to sound the trumpet of a watchman thus commissioned by God and stationed upon the ramparts of our great nation. (Ezekiel 33:1-7)

On behalf of our national sins and to any degree in which we have personally partaken we do now repent for:

The Sin of Abortion: With intense sorrow we duly recognize that our nation has chosen the idol of convenience and self indulgence over the precious gift of life. The blood of each child, who although created in the image of God was thought a burden and relegated to a place of refuse, indeed each one of these blood cries out from the ground for judgment. Rather than defending the defenseless we have led them to slaughter. In addition, as the Body of Christ, we repent for allowing the justification of such abominable acts to proceed from our pulpits and declare that there can be no reconciliation between the practice of abortion and the preaching of Your Kingdom! Gen. 4:10 - Psalm 139:13-14

Lord we are guilty; we beseech You to have mercy!