As we approach the end of days, Jesus promised that persecution would grow. He stated that we would be hated for His name sake. Many of us around the world know this to be true, yet few of us - especially in the United States - understand what real persecution is. In Iran, a 34-year old Christian pastor has recently been sentenced to death for leaving the Islamic faith and converting to a Jesus-loving Christian. This is the real world that we live in. Though our news channels seldom give this kind of reality any kind of attention, it is important that we remember this is what happens in much of the world. Also, we need to remember that although Jesus warned these things would happen, and increase in the end times, that was not rhetoric aimed to get us to accept these horrible acts of evil. We need to remember this reality, and pray against it. So please pray for our brother in Christ - Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani - and his family. Pray that the Lord would have mercy on him, and show grace upon his family. Pray that the Lord would have mercy on those who convict this man, that they would see their sin and rebellion against God, and repent. Pray for Jesus' soon return, that His kingdom would come, and His will would be done, on earth as it is in heaven, so that these things would cease to happen!

Click here to read the full article about Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani.

Here within the Proper Knowledge Ministries crew, we're pretty big football fans. However, as fans of the sport and the culture that surrounds it, we've stumbled upon some news that is extremely alarming that requires some intense prayer. According to the article linked below, for the last couple of years, sex-traffickers have been taking advantage of the hype that comes with the Super Bowl, and it's large crowds. As a result, many young women and children have been exploited in tragic ways and our intercession is greatly needed. What becomes alarming about this is that it should be understood that this is likely happening to some extent for every large sporting event, or any event that would tend to draw large crowds - apparently these sex-traffickers are very opportunistic. Please pray that the Lord would stop this evil and deliver these young women and children!

Click here to read the full article.

_ For those in the United States, if you think back over the last several years, you can likely recall a time where there was still some presence of Jesus during the holiday season. Today, such is not so much the case. Today, it is difficult to find any trace of Jesus in the public arena of Christmas. In many places in the United States nativity scenes are being protested and removed, and consumer retail stores seldom carry product affiliated with Jesus during the Christ. A recent article released by the Washington Examiner introduced another ploy against the presence of Christ in context with Christmas. The article listed below speaks of a new policy our nation’s congressmen must adhere to. Members of the House of Representatives have been told that they are no longer allowed to send any form of mail to constituents wishing them a “Merry Christmas” if that mail is paid for with tax dollars. It is important to note that the majority of mail sent from congressmen to constituents is paid for with tax dollars. This new mandate issued by the “Franking Commission Staff” was delivered in a memo stating the following:

“Members are unable at the current time to use official resources to record holiday greetings, post on social media/website, or send constituents in franked mail or e-communications…”

“You may make reference to the season as a whole using language along the lines of ‘Have a safe and happy holiday season.’ It may only be incidental to the piece rather than the primary purpose of the communication…”

Once this memo was published, a franking commission spokesman confirmed to The Washington Examiner that members of Congress indeed could not wish constituents a “Merry Christmas” in any official mailing, though the use of “Happy Holidays” was permitted. While Senators are permitted to use their holiday language with freedom, the House of Representatives is seemingly being told what they can, or cannot say concerning religious holiday celebrations. Is it coincidence the religious holiday in question concerns the name of Jesus? Keep our nation in prayer as the war on Christ continues to become more public and aggressive. Praise God that victory is already won in Christ Jesus!

To read the complete article from The Washington Examiner, click here

_ An editorial article came out today through CNN from a fairly qualified individual in regards to our nations ever-growing debt crisis. A few months back, our Congress assembled a “super committee” to meet on, assess, and begin the process of fixing our nation’s debt crisis. If you’re wondering what our debt crisis is; to put it simply, our country spends way more than we make. Therefore, problems arise. Many analysts and commentators are looking at our government as the problem – their inability to compromise for the sake of national gain is a problem. I’m not sure there are many Americans alive today who would disagree with that. Our government is seemingly unable to look past their own private agendas and simply act responsibly for the growth of the nation. We need to be praying for these people. It would seem that the group of individuals being appointed to make decisions and execute solutions fails to understand that indecision is equally damaging to our nation.

While we are not here to side with any political party or agenda, we do understand that we as Americans are forced to rely on the ability of our government to a certain degree. Surely we put our trust in the Lord, but the things our government does, or doesn’t do has an impact on our daily life; and so we want to remember to keep our government leaders in prayer so that the Lord would be the focus of their decision making. Now, as Christians, when we hear statements like that, it’s difficult to fight the temptation to be pessimistic. We often find it unlikely our government would ever be led by the Lord, yet as Christians we claim to have faith in the same Bible that proclaims, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” If we hold to the belief that God created everything from nothing, do we really feel God is unable to implement change, responsibility and accountability in our nation’s government? “Lord I believe, help my unbelief… (Mark 9:24)”

That brings us to a problem larger than our government. Thankfully, in spite of the size of the problem, it’s actually small enough to fix quite simply. If we look at the challenges our government faces today with an honest set of eyes, we should see that they are the same challenges Americans face on an individual level. Our government is broke because they spent more than they had. Well, the same could be said for us: we are broke because we spent more than we had. The article linked below makes a compelling statement that our government gambled with our money and with indecision. Again, we can see similarities in the individual American. The article linked below makes a statement that the unwillingness of our government to be accountable is a big part of the nation’s spending problems. The same could be said about the American individual. The article linked below stated that our government has a tendency to act reckless. Yet still, can’t the same be said for the average American individual?

See, many people attribute the real estate and stock market crash to a moment in time where life dramatically changed. Yet it’s tough to blame the stock market or interest rates when an honest assessment is taken into consideration. Sure, interest rates did jump and home values did dramatically decline, but did we as Americans have to borrow such large amounts of money? Now consider what Americans spent borrowed money on when we all thought life was good. Now a greater challenge comes into play when you consider the fact that so many Americans consider themselves Christians. Did we forget the Biblical commands of our God to live humbly, to not store treasures here on earth, but in heaven, and to not love things of the world? We’re all dirty on this. Sure our government has problems, but they’re a small part of our greater need to simply live Biblically as Christians. Pray for our nation’s Christians to stand up and live godly, to live righteously, and to live by the entire word of God as set before us! Pray that God would work through individuals on small levels to inspire others to live righteously as God did with Jonathan and his armor bearer in 1 Samuel. Before we begin to blame people we don’t know, let us first be willing to look in the mirror and understand if we are indeed “blameless” as we are instructed to be, and if we are indeed “walking worthy of our calling” as commanded by our Lord and Savior. Let us pray for the strength to do it in a world that is contrary. Let us pray for the endurance to stand firm to what is right in God’s eyes. Let us repent and turn from the bad habits of the flesh and live according to the Spirit we claim is in us. Let us pray for the soon return of Jesus, so that He would restore that which we destroyed.

To read the full article, click here

What up y'all, check this out! This is real important! Our brothers and sisters in El Salvador need our prayer. Thank you to Pastor Wilian Guerra for sharing this email from our missionaries in El Salvador:

Dear family in Christ,

We want to thank each of you who have been praying for us. El Salvador has just experienced 10 straight days of non-stop rain that have left us with a national emergency in our hands and a state of national mourning. 10% of the land is under water and 70% of the country has been affected by this tragedy. The numbers are truly disturbing and they spell out an uncertain future for the land. 14 bridges have collapsed which might not seem like a big deal, however with those bridges out of service getting the needed supplies to the more than 50,000 in temporary refuge has become an odyssey, some of the hardest hit places can only be accessed by boat or on horseback, even 4 wheel drive vehicles are not responding well to the amount of water and dirt on the ground. The agricultural effect will be felt for months on end as it is estimated that 45% of the corn harvest has been devastated by these rains as well as much of the coffee. 32 people lost their lives and 3 are still missing according to the latest reports and the sun has just now began to peak through a mildly cloudy sky. In our area there are 333 families taking refuge from the storm that have lost so much of the little they had, they represent about 1,000 people who are being sheltered in 14 different centers in our area. Suffice it to say it has not been a good week for El Salvador. We have for this reason postponed the church opening until next Saturday the 29th, at 4 pm and will be spending this week instead helping those in the shelters and bringing food and supplies to those in need, please pray for safety and provision for us to be able to do this. If you are interested in helping, contact us for more info. Please pray for us this week.
 
El Salvador- Please pray for the rain to stop, not another drop on the ground is needed at this point, please pray for the sun and the winds to dry up the land quickly. Please pray for the homeless and the people in the shelters, there is an upcoming cold front that is scheduled to hit this afternoon, and they have no way to stay warm.
 
Protection- As a family we ask that you pray for our protection, we live in one of the most dangerous countries in the world, yet we are seldom afraid of the crime and the gangs. It is funny how at times danger and fear come from places where one does not expect, places they shouldn’t come. We are asking that you pray for our protection, not only physical against the crime and the gangs and those things which are of importance, but against anyone of anything that might mean harm towards us physical, spiritual and emotional from places expected and not expected alike.
 
He has Sent- We have had some good news this week, our application to minister in the government run charity hospital has been approved. We are blessed to be able to go in and minister to the least of these, and begin the second of four phases we have for this ministry. Please pray for the homeless and ailing people we will be ministering to and praying over that our words would go forth with power, that the Holy Spirit would use us to cast out demons, heal the sick and set the captives to drugs, alcohol and sin free. We are excited. Please pray for provision as these ministries also include helping in practical ways, we make meals for the homeless as we go out and share with them the Word, and we also will provide food for the wing of the hospital we are allowed to visit. It is amazing how much a few pounds of rice and beans can do when given in the love of the Lord.
 
Iglesia Gracia Divina- The Lord is so good, He knows the day and the hour we should open amen?, in the meantime we make our plans and leave them in His hands. One praise report though, when the rains began to get serious we had already sent out to print the flyers, we were sad that we would have to re-print them and we had no more funds budgeted for this, and then we looked at them and it seems we forgot to add the date on them. The Lord knew and allowed us to not notice such a gross mistake and now we can still use the same flyers, all we have to do is just write in the date. He is so good. Please pray for this event as it will tentatively take place on the 29th, it will require the sun to be out during the week, the ground in my home needs to dry before we can have it.
 
English Classes- We are starting a summer course of English Classes in hopes to bless those around us and to bring awareness of the church. Please pray for much fruit to come from this ministry. Church attendance will not be required, but we will invite them and pray for them and share the Word of God in class. We are excited and feel a little scared at the same time. =D
 
CC Clermont- 3 guests from CC Clermont will be coming to spend a week with us, to work alongside of us and to attend the Pastors and Leaders Conference in San Salvador with us. Please pray for them, that the Lord would accomplish all His purposes in and for them during this visit. They are the first short term missions team we host and we are very excited and honored.
 
Conferences and Affiliation- we will be speaking to the appropriate pastors about CC affiliation during the conference here in San Salvador, please pray for everything to go smoothly, please pray for the conference on the 4th and 5th to be a time of refreshing and encouragement. Please also pray we might be able to attend the Missions Conference in Murrieta this January.
 
Katie – please pray for her, she is still experiencing much pain and fatigue, the other day her entire leg cramped up and it was rather painful and traumatic (for me anyway, she was up and about a little while later). The doctor has recommended swimming and a stationary bike, none of which is possible for us right now, please pray for provision.
 
P & F- how time flies, our next P & F time will take place next Wednesday the 26th of October, so many of you have shared so much blessing that has come through this, I pray you join us. We will be sending a reminder on Saturday and again on Tuesday along with our prayer requests and devotional for the month.
 
Thank you so much for your prayers, love and support. I (Kathy) would also like to ask for your prayers in a personal matter, my cousins will both be experiencing life changing events in the next few weeks, within 3 weeks these 2 sisters will be a new mom and a new wife. I would like to bless them in any way I can, please pray the Lord would allow me to do that and to give me wisdom as to how to go about that. Thank you. We want you all to know that we love you and pray continually for the Lord to bless you.

Check out the video below to witness the work in El Salvador

For the last few months, most people have heard about the continued violence, unrest, and protest going on in heavily populated parts of Syria. Time has progressed, but progress has not. Since the unrest began in mid-March, nearly 2,000 people have been killed between civilian and security officials. As this violence has gone on, the U.N., European Union, and the United States have all been absolutely powerless. There have been sanctions levied against Syria, and many public statements from leadership officials around the world, but the world seems to be all bark and no bite in this situation. Now as the Christian has stood by and watched these events unfold, we can look with a sense of anticipation as these things point to the fulfillment of God’s prophetic word. However, we can’t look at this stuff without a sense of compassion. While God is working to fulfill His perfect plan, there are still many people dying; many news reports state approximately 62 people died since Sunday, July 31st. . So we want to pray for the perfect will of God and pray for mercy for the people of Syria. Though it is sometimes difficult to see how God is glorified in events such as these, pray that the world would see God’s hand over this and that violence would lead to salvation! Let us also understand the fragility of human life. We pray that we can all appreciate the gift of life the Lord has given us, and while our personal circumstances may be difficult in terms of finances, work, family, etc., praise God that most of us don’t have to worry about walking out of our homes to snipers, armed military officials, or deadly riots. Please, we implore you not to turn in ignorance of the reality of death in Syria or try to ignore what is really happening to human beings in another part of the world. This is real stuff. These are real people. These are God’s children too. Share the heart of the Lord and have compassion for these people. Regardless of the cause of this violence and evil sin, pray that salvation would be a bi-product of this, and thank God that He is just and righteous in every way.

Click below to see more information on the situation in Syria. Please be advised that the content provided does contain subject matter that deals with violence, death and may contain graphic images.

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On Monday, June 27th 2011 the United States Supreme court ruled against a law that would have put a ban on the legal ability to sell violent video games to minors in the state of California. The law was an attempt to keep minors from being subjected to games which allowed them to manipulate characters, enabling them to perform violent, malicious, or sexually violent acts in the game. The Supreme Court stated that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the manufacturers and producers of these games and their abilities to market and sell them to minors. Therefore, the United States court system will not support any law that disables them from influencing our youth with violence. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 it states that men would become lovers of violence, brutal and people who despise what is good. Unfortunately 7 out of 9 judges ruled in favor of violence, brutality and were unable to vote for that which is good. Our country continues to head in the wrong direction in terms of morality.

Pray for our judges. Pray for our court systems. Pray for the organization and individuals that produce the games that negatively affect our kids. Pray for the organizations and individuals that stand and fight against that which perverts our country. Pray that our country would open its eyes and see just how far from the Lord we have gone.

Click here to read the full article on MSNBC

Today New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that made New York the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage. As this subject matter has been under intense debate and controversy, the efforts from the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender community have proven successful – little by little. While the Christian church seems to be nearly powerless in our efforts to uphold the concept of marriage as defined by the Word of God, prayer was, and should still be our primary weapon. So please keep our nation in prayer as state-after-state allows immorality to define the United States of America.
Click here to see the article on CNN