News for May 15, 2005

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First Global Day of Prayer

“Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other word and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit’s power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources and too little to the source of power.” | Hudson Taylor (1832-1905)

Two Hundred Million expected to join Global Day of Prayer

This Sunday, May 15, will be the Day of Pentecost, and the first Global Day of Prayer will call the nations together to ask God for a "greater Pentecost."

The National Day of Prayer on May 5th was the "Day of Ascension," the day that our Messiah Jesus, "was taken up into the sky while they were watching, and He disappeared into a cloud." He had just said, "When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about Me everywhere..."

The disciples met together continually for prayer and ten days later, the Holy Spirit came— just as Jesus promised — in power. "Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting.”

2000 years later — Arising from Africa. In 2001, one stadium in Cape Town, South Africa was filled with 45,000 people who came to pray. In 2002, it expanded to eight stadiums and 350,000. In 2003, 2.5 million gathered in 130 stadiums. On May 2, 2004, the movement exploded. More than 22 million rallied in prayer at more than 2,000 sites throughout every single country on the continent of Africa (56 nations).

African leaders and leaders from most major traditions of Christian faith are again calling people to join in a historic act of united prayer. As Christians around the world pray, it will be the first ever Global Day of Prayer on May 15th. In this time of global turmoil, Christians will join together around the Earth in united, focused, fervent prayer asking God for transforming revival!

May 15, 2005, Pentecost Sunday and the Global Day of Prayer

Christians in many lands will assemble in massive gatherings in stadiums and open squares. In other places, believers will gather in homes and other public venues. To help connect and align prayers even more, there will be a six hour live Concert of Prayer broadcast, one hour from each continental area. The signal will be relayed by satellite, radio and Internet so that many millions will be linked simultaneously all over the world. The same broadcast will be repeated so that people in any time zone can take part on Pentecost afternoon or evening. For more information concerning the GDP, go to www.globaldayofprayer.com

Report: Israel offers land for evangelical Christian center (May 14, 2005) - The government has offered to donate 35 acres beside the Sea of Galilee for an evangelical Christian center to boost Christian tourism, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

Christians persecuted in Vietnam (May 14, 2005) - New evidence shows Vietnamese security forces are continuing to mistreat and arbitrarily detain Montagnards, indigenous hill people from the communist country's Central Highlands. Human Rights Watch today in a new 16-page briefing paper said Vietnamese officials are also continuing to force Montagnard Christians to recant their faith.

Family groups decry same-sex ruling (May 14, 2005) - Pro-family groups across the nation accused a federal judge in Nebraska of judicial activism after he became the first in the U.S. to strike down a state amendment barring same-sex marriage or civil unions, nullifying a Nebraska measure passed by 70 percent of voters in 2000.

Kan. Evolution Hearings End in Clash (May 14, 2005) - Hearings held to determine how the theory of evolution should be treated in Kansas public schools ended Thursday in a bitter clash over the meetings' purpose -- and the behavior of participants. The conservative state Board of Education plans to consider proposed changes in standards by August that determine how students are tested on science statewide. The board is expected to approve at least part of a proposal from advocates of "intelligent design," which holds that some features in the natural world are so complex and well-ordered that an intelligent cause is the best way to explain them. Intelligent design advocates say, however, they are not pushing their ideas, only trying to expose students to more criticism of evolution. The three days of hearings have drawn reporters from Canada, France, Great Britain and Japan -- and a film crew shooting a documentary. The Seattle-based Discovery Institute, which supports intelligent design research, said Case and other evolution defenders were ducking hard questions. "Their attitude seems to be trust us; everyone else is stupid," said John West, a senior fellow at the institute. "They seem to crawl under a rock when anybody tries to question them." (There is nothing to stand on, therefore because their pride won't let them change their ideas, they have to back down because they know if they keep going, everyone will suddenly become more intelligent than them, and realize their theory is flawed. Even Darwin said it

World unites to discuss a new coalition to stop the USA (May 11, 2005) - South American and Arab leaders opened an unprecedented summit yesterday to usher in new cooperation aimed at undercutting the international influence of the United States. With 9,000 soldiers posted around the city and helicopters overhead, 16 heads of state and top officials from 34 South American, Middle Eastern and North African nations gathered for the first Summit of South American-Arab Countries. "Today, we are facing a historic opportunity to build the foundation for a bridge of solid cooperation between South America and the Arab world," said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He said the leaders must band together to ensure that free trade helps the developing world's masses, instead of only rich countries and multinational corporations.

Severely Brain-Damaged Woman Speaks after Three Years - "I've never seen this happen...until now," Says Doctor Aimee Herd, Davin Dahlgren reporting (May 13, 2005)

A woman from Kansas, who was involved in a car accident in 2002 and suffered extensive injury to her brain, has begun to speak after 3 years, to her doctor's amazement.

After the accident, Tracy Gaskill's relatives were told she would probably die by noon the next day, but the family and Cowley County community members prayed and visited Tracy regularly. Gaskill lived through the next day and gradually began to improve. She was fed through a feeding tube similar to that of Terry Schiavo, whose tube was removed by court order, causing her to die after nearly two weeks.

But Gaskill received therapy where Schiavo's was denied. Nurses worked with Gaskill eventually teaching her to hum and swallow, then to speak clearly. Doctor David Schmeidler told a local newspaper, "It's amazing, isn't it? I have never seen this happen in my career. I've read about it happening, the severely brain damaged recovering suddenly, but never seen it - until now."

Prayer, an Effective Painkiller? Anita Manning / Teresa Neumann Reporting (May 13, 2005) - Americans have found a no-cost painkiller they say is as effective as prescription drugs: prayer. That, according to a USA Today report. The article states that more than half of those who responded to a USA TODAY/ABC News/Stanford University Medical Center poll released Monday say they use prayer to control pain. Of those, 90% say it worked well, and 51% say "very well."

Internet Evangelism: Casting a New Kind of Net - "I got saved on the Internet" – that is what more and more people are saying, after logging onto religious Web sites. The Internet is just one more tool that many ministries are using to reach the world for Christ. When Jesus gave the commandment, 'Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel,' the disciples were on foot. There was no television, no radio, no airplanes, and certainly no Internet. What a difference 2,000 years can make! Or for that matter, 10 years. Today, more and more people are coming to faith in Christ by logging onto the World Wide Web.