Tag Archives: Prayer

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! The Celebration continues at Morningside! Join us Live!!

American Flag - VOTE

By Kami Klein

Today is the Birthday of the United States of America, a country founded on a firm faith in God.  This is a nation born for freedom!  We have been through war and strife, times that would test anywhere in the world, but with our God nothing is impossible! His continuing hand of blessing upon this country can and will give us strength.  Morningside is celebrating and giving thanks all week long for our 4th of July events!  

On Tuesday afternoon please join us live as we picnic on Grace street where we will be listening to the wonderful  Lindley Creek Bluegrass Band at approximately 3:00 pm, CST.  Later, beginning at 7:00 CST, the evening festivities begin with worship led by the talented James Huey, followed by a very special service with Cindy and Mike Jacobs.  A spectacular fireworks display will begin at 9 pm CST   with all of the Morningside family!  If you are in the neighborhood, we would LOVE to have you there with us!

All of this will be Live on Demand on The Jim Bakker Show website, PTL Television Network website, Roku and Apple TV!  Be sure to check our schedule for more inspirational and educational events for the remainder of this week ending on Saturday night, July, 8th!  

God Bless you on this 4th of July Holiday!  We hope you are spending it with your loved ones.  Please join us as we continue to pray for this amazing nation and for the leadership of this country!  

 

We love you!

 

The Jim Bakker Show Hosts Paula White-Cain August 15th!

Paula White

By Kami Klein

Morningside will be welcoming Pastor Paula White-Cain to Grace Street for a special taping on The Jim Bakker Show!  As a celebrated author and teacher, popular TV personality, and spirit-led preacher of God’s Word, she has impacted people from every walk of life in more than 100 countries.

Today, Paula is married to Jonathan Cain of the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame band, Journey and is the Senior Pastor of New Destiny Christian Center in Orlando, Florida. She travels extensively as a much in demand speaker and teacher of the gospel and also serves as Chairwoman of the Evangelical Advisory Board to President Donald J. Trump. Pastor White-Cain has been the spiritual adviser to President Trump for many years and delivered the invocation at President Trump’s inauguration, becoming the first female clergy member to pray at a Presidential inauguration. Her life leading to that moment has been totally remarkable.

Paula White-Cain’s childhood was tragic, abusive and at times seemed quite hopeless. She was introduced to the Bible at the age of 18 and her life was transformed.  Paula has been quoted as saying, “Champions have the courage to keep turning pages because they know a better chapter lies ahead.”  God’s mandate was for her to preach the gospel of Christ around the world, and Paula demonstrated what a champion’s heart could be and began ministering in the inner cities of Washington, DC, sharing Jesus with the children in these violence ridden neighborhoods.  

After going on to lead multiple mega-churches, she then founded Paula White Ministries.  Through her ministries, hundreds of thousands of people have been impacted with food for the needy and money to rebuild lives proving, through her actions, God’s message of love.   

The roles in Christian ministry have changed thanks to Paula White-Cain’s impact in paving the way for millions of young women to pursue God’s calling on their lives.  She is a proven leader and has received numerous awards and honors for her ministry work and has delivered many notable invocations including the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.   

Please join us for this very special show taping with Paula White-Cain on Tuesday, August 15th on Grace Street at Morningside!  Taping begins at noon and admission is free.  Don’t miss a moment with this outstanding woman of faith!  

President Trump calls for prayer after shooting

Donald Trump

By Kami Klein

In response to the shooting at Simpson Park in Alexandria of House majority Whip Steve Scalise along with the wounding of four others, President Trump called for prayer, reminding the nation: “We may have our differences, but we do well in times like these to remember that everyone who serves in this nation’s capital, above all, they love our country.”

In a special session just hours after the President’s press conference, House speaker Paul Ryan stressed to the Senate that “An attack on one of us, is an attack on ALL of us.”  He remarked that the most memorable picture that he hoped would be remembered after this day was of the Democratic leadership engaged in prayer for the fallen. With great emotion in his voice he stated. “We are one House. The People’s House, and we are one in humanity.”

As followers of Christ, we understand the power of prayer and of God’s mercy.  Praying is bipartisan and does not belong to one political party or the other nor is it only for our nation but for the entire world for we are all God’s children.

We must always remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:19-20 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are assembled in My name, there I am in their midst.”

In his address to the press this morning, President Trump added that “we are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good.” In this Church family, we stand together by the thousands, and we are asking that all of us join in prayer now for our nation.   

Please pray for those that were wounded today, Steve Scalise, Officers Crystal Griner and David Bailey as well as Zachary Barth and Matt Mika.  Pray for their quick recovery and for their family and friends as they must now be ready to help in their healing with loving support.  Pray with gratitude for the protection of so many from what could have been a massacre and the law enforcement who put their lives on the line without a second thought.  And pray with compassion for the suspect’s family who must also cope with the shock of this attack.

As Christians, we are commanded to love one another.  This nation needs God’s love and as His children, we must be HIS example. Our first step must be in prayer.

 

President Trump signs Religious Liberty Executive Order on National Day of Prayer

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an Executive Order on Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty during the National Day of Prayer event at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington D.C., U.S., May 4, 2017.

By Kami Klein

On the National Day of Prayer, President Donald Trump and Vice President Pence signed a new executive order focusing on Religious Liberty.  White House officials declared “it is the policy of the administration to protect and vigorously promote religious liberty.”  Today, President Trump made good on his promise to ease a ban on political activity by churches and other tax-exempt institutions.

Many friends of Morningside were already in Washington D.C. for the National Day of Prayer. Prophetic and influential leaders such as Paula White, Jentezen Franklin, Samuel Rodriguez, Pastor Ramiro Pena, Franklin Graham and Anne Graham were there for this historic moment.  Also in attendance were Alveda King, Ravi Zachariah, Rev. Maldonado, Dr. David Jeremiah, Dr. Jim Garlow and Pastor Frank Amedia.

In a signing ceremony at the White House, President Trump said: “We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced any more.”  The President continued by saying, “ No one should be censoring sermons or targeting pastors.”

This executive order will allow non-profit organizations, hospitals, educational institutions and businesses to deny certain health coverage for religious reasons.  An example of this would be Christian Groups like Little Sisters of the Poor from being forced to pay for abortion or contraception services.

Under the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 law sponsored by Lyndon Johnson, organizations that are non-profit, tax exempt status are not allowed to participate in political campaigning or supporting any one candidate for elective office.   Trump’s order guides the IRS to “alleviate the burden of the Johnson Amendment.”

A White House official told Fox News, “I think how the President feels about the Johnson amendment is that politicians and unelected bureaucrats shouldn’t have the power to shut up their critics just because they are church leaders or charities.”

“We don’t have any plans to discriminate, we’re about not discriminating against religious organizations!”

The following is the full text of Trump’s Executive Order :  

 

PROMOTING FREE SPEECH AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to guide the executive branch in formulating and implementing policies with implications for the religious liberty of persons and organizations in America, and to further compliance with the Constitution and with applicable statutes and Presidential Directives, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. It shall be the policy of the executive branch to vigorously enforce Federal law’s robust protections for religious freedom. The Founders envisioned a Nation in which religious voices and views were integral to a vibrant public square, and in which religious people and institutions were free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or retaliation by the Federal Government. For that reason, the United States Constitution enshrines and protects the fundamental right to religious liberty as Americans’ first freedom. Federal law protects the freedom of Americans and their organizations to exercise religion and participate fully in civic life without undue interference by the Federal Government. The executive branch will honor and enforce those protections.

Sec. 2. Respecting Religious and Political Speech. All executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall, to the greatest extent practicable and to the extent permitted by law, respect and protect the freedom of persons and organizations to engage in religious and political speech. In particular, the Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure, to the extent permitted by law, that the Department of the Treasury does not take any adverse action against any individual, house of worship, or other religious organization on the basis that such individual or organization speaks or has spoken about moral or political issues from a religious perspective, where speech of similar character has, consistent with law, not ordinarily been treated as participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) a candidate for public office by the Department of the Treasury. As used in this section, the term “adverse action” means the imposition of any tax or tax penalty; the delay or denial of tax-exempt status; the disallowance of tax deductions for contributions made to entities exempted from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of title 26, United States Code; or any other action that makes unavailable or denies any tax deduction, exemption, credit, or benefit.

Sec. 3. Conscience Protections with Respect to Preventive-Care Mandate. The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall consider issuing amended regulations, consistent with applicable law, to address conscience-based objections to the preventive-care mandate promulgated under section 300gg-13(a)(4) of title 42, United States Code.

Sec. 4. Religious Liberty Guidance. In order to guide all agencies in complying with relevant Federal law, the Attorney General shall, as appropriate, issue guidance interpreting religious liberty protections in Federal law.

Sec. 5. Severability. If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any individual or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its other provisions to any other individuals or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

 

Sources:  Fox news, Reuters, CNN, CNBC, Washington Examiner

Texas school board can start meetings with prayer: U.S. appeals court

Praying little girl

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) – A federal appeals court said on Monday a Texas school board may open its meetings with student-led prayers without violating the U.S. Constitution.

In a 3-0 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal by the American Humanist Association, which said the practice by the Birdville Independent School District violated the First Amendment’s prohibition of a government establishment of religion.

The appeals court also reversed a lower court judge’s denial of “qualified immunity” to school board members, and dismissed the case against them. Birdville serves Haltom City, Texas, a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth.

Monica Miller, a lawyer for AHA and Isaiah Smith, a 2014 Birdville High School graduate who challenged the prayers, said they were reviewing their options, including asking the entire New Orleans-based appeals court to review the case.

The Birdville school district, in a statement, called the decision a “complete vindication.”

Birdville’s school board has since 1997 let students, typically in elementary or middle school, open meetings with statements that AHA said were usually prayers, often referring to Jesus Christ and asking audience members to pray. Board members often stand and bow their heads during the invocations.

Writing for the appeals court, Circuit Judge Jerry Smith said the matter involved legislative prayer, because a school board was “more like a legislature” than a classroom.

He also said the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 decision letting the town of Greece in upstate New York start board meetings with prayer supported the Birdville school board’s practice.

“Most attendees at school-board meetings, including Smith, are mature adults,” and even board members’ “polite” requests that the audience stand during invocations “do not coerce prayer,” Smith wrote.

The judge added that while two other federal appeals courts reached the opposite conclusion in similar cases, their decisions predated the Greece case and students, unlike in Birdville, had formal roles in board proceedings.

Smith was appointed to the bench by Republican President Ronald Reagan, while panel members Edith Brown Clement and Leslie Southwick were appointed by Republican President George W. Bush.

“The decision is reassuring because these trustees are elected and serve without compensation, and the possibility that they might be personally liable for damages would be somewhat daunting,” D. Craig Wood, a lawyer for the defendants, said in an interview.

The case is American Humanist Association et al v Birdville Independent School District et al, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Nos. 15-11067, 16-11220.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Editing by Grant McCool and Peter Cooney)

Jan Crouch co-founder TBN passes to Her Heavenly Home

Lori and I join in prayer for the family of Jan Crouch, who passed to her heavenly home Tuesday morning. Jan, along with her late husband Paul Crouch, co-founded Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN), which I believe to be the largest network in the world today.

Paul and Jan have reached many lives and greatly impacted the kingdom of God! There are many who will mourn the loss of this great woman of God, but we rejoice in knowing that she is with our Lord and Savior.

Love,

Jim and Lori Bakker

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Where Do You Get YOUR Gospel?

There are many people that do not even want to hear the Book of Revelation.  They call ministers who preach on the prophetic events of the Bible, “prophets of doom” disregarding the fact that it is plainly written in the Bible and we’re seeing it in the daily news today!  So many in the church today are not allowing themselves to see what is happening right in front of their eyes.

Matthew 16:2-3 tells us, “When it is evening, ye say, “It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.”  “And in the morning,  It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering.  O ye hypocrites ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times.”

Luke 21:27-28 tells us,  “There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars…Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

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The Greatest Threat to America’s National Security

No “new law” will protect America from what is coming.
More restrictions on guns won’t stop what is coming.
Less restrictions on guns won’t stop what is coming.

Closing the borders won’t prevent it.
Refusing refugee’s won’t avert it.
More education on sharia law or the Muslim community will not save America from what is coming.

The ONLY thing that will protect America from what is coming is RETURNING to the commands of God; returning to a nation dedicated unto him.

The SINGLE GREATEST threat to America’s national security is LIVING IN STARK CONTRAST TO HOW THE WORD OF GOD SAYS TO LIVE.

Look at what God says a nation will look like who does NOT follow him with their whole hearts…

Deuteronomy 28:15 & 43 (NIV) If you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you… The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower… He will be the head, but you will be the tail.

Sounding familiar yet? Wait…

God’s judgments get more detailed for the nation who leaves their roots.

Deuteronomy 28:25 (NIV) The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven

Deuteronomy 28:49-50 (NIV) The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young.

A nation from FAR away? A nation whose language we don’t understand? A fierce looking nation with no respect for even the old or young? Our ENEMIES?

And WHY would God allow all of these things to happen? Once again…

Deuteronomy 28:15 (NIV) If you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you… all these curses will come on you and overtake you.

I want to make this very clear. What we are seeing today in America is the start of God’s Judgment for a nation who once loved and served Him. And as the old saying goes, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

The SINGLE greatest threat to America’s national security is not THE EMP bomb, a solar flare, a cyber-attack or the grid collapsing in any magnitude. It’s not the refugee crisis or ISIS infiltrating our southern borders. It isn’t North Korea’s outlandish threats or the Iran nuclear deal being passed, giving them a clear path to develop nuclear weapons.

The SINGLE greatest threat to America’s National Security is, once again… Living in stark contrast to how our God says to live!

GOD will protect a nation who lives for Him.
HE will uplift and protect the nation that lives for Him!!!
GOD WILL put a canopy of protection over the countries that serve Him! A canopy that NO man can break!

No enemy can penetrate the canopy of God’s protection if we are living for HIM!!

I DON’T CARE what ISIS, AL QAEDA, North Korea, Iran, Russia, or China WANTS to do. They will have to deal with GOD!!

Look at what God says a nation will look like who DOES follow him with their whole hearts:

Deuteronomy 28 (NIV)

Blessings for Obedience

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

…The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven…

God will uphold the national security of a country living for Him! No enemy can penetrate the canopy of God’s protection over America if we are living for HIM!!

So, I end with this…

Judgment is coming to America unless America radically repents and turns back to God and His ways. It’s time to go back into our prayer closets. It’s time to seek God again with ALL of our hearts.

Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV) 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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

It’s not time for compromise! It’s not time for half hearted obedience! It’s time to seek God with EVERY fiber of our being!

Let’s pray church…