Why is the National Day of Prayer important?

George Washington often called the nation to public prayer and thanksgiving, and many presidents since him have followed his lead.
In fact, President Washington once wrote a letter to the Hebrew congregation in Savannah praying for God's blessings. Here is part of what he said:
"May the same wonder-working Deity, who long since delivered the Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors, planted them in a promised land, whose providential agency has lately been conspicuous in establishing these United States as an independent nation, still continue to water them with the dews of heaven and make the inhabitants of every denomination participate in the temporal and spiritual blessings of that people whose God is Jehovah." (Michael Novak and Jana Novak, Washington's God. New York: Basic Books, 2006, p. 240.)
As Americans, it is important that we have the religious freedom to gather and pray as we choose, without any coercion to do so on those who do not wish to pray, and without any suppression against doing so by those who do wish to pray.
As people of faith, it is important that we pray for our nation, because God's word tells us to do so. We read in 1 Timothy 2:1-2: "First of all, then I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority..." Prayer is our opportunity to connect with the power of God Himself. There are so many needs in our nation that can only be met by God-- the need for peace, purpose, salvation and healing from both moral and spiritual sickness.
For several years, Rincon United Methodist Church, Rincon Church of God and First Baptist Church of Rincon have jointly sponsored a National Day of Prayer breakfast. This year it will be at the Rincon Church of God family life center at 6:00 a.m. on May 1. Each year, we have a government leader speak, and then we gather in small groups to pray. This year we chose a leader in law enforcement, recognizing how important it is that we pray for the police and sheriff deputies. Our speaker is Richard Bush, chief deputy sheriff of Effingham County.

France is needy

I was visiting the hospital a few days ago, and a church member asked about my recent mission trip. Another person asked, "Where did you go on a mission trip?" and when he heard it was to the suburbs of Paris, France, he said, "I thought when you said you went on a mission trip that you went somewhere needy."I understood what he meant. Paris is a beautiful city. Everybody wants to go there to tour. And yes, we saw the Eiffel Tower at night, flashing on the hour with sparkling lights. We saw the beautiful whitewashed cathedral of Montmarte on the hillside overlooking the city. We climbed on top of the Arch de Triomphe and took pictures in all directions. We saw the glitter and gold of the Palace of Versailles.So I understand why the man thought we did not go to a place that is needy.But let me tell you what else I saw. I saw a new Muslim mosque under construction, and I saw two large apartment buildings that are full of Muslims. A Baptist pastor said that people are afraid to go there and share the gospel. I went on the streets handing out gospel tracts with Baptists in the town of Colombes, France, and I saw a Muslim man who said he had been to the Baptist church and liked their worship, and I saw another Muslim man who insisted that Christians worshiped three gods and did not want to listen to their explanation of the Trinity. I saw many people turn away our witness and I heard a missionary explain to me that ten years ago 15% of the French were practicing Catholics, but today it is 8 to 9%, and she thinks in another decade it will be zero. And only 4% are Protestant, with just 1% evangelical Protestant.I took four Christian policemen with me and visited the police station in Colombes. I saw policemen who had no nametags and who take off their uniforms and wear civilian clothes when they go home, for fear of reprisals against them because their are policemen. I saw one Baptist policeman who told our Christian policemen that he felt alone as a Christian, and desperately needed their encouragement to share his faith and live a faithful Christian life when he did not know any other policemen who profess faith in Christ.I saw a vibrant Baptist church in Colombes, France that is overflowing with children, mostly from African immigrant families, and the church has no room for them-- just a few tiny classrooms above their old sanctuary, a small building with sofas out back and two tiny modular classrooms-- yet they attract hundreds of children and youth and share Christ with them. After what I saw, I would say that France IS needy. Needy to hear the gospel.

Columnists suggests legalizing prostitution

Savannah columnist K.W. Oxnard, in an essay published in the March 31, 2008 issue of the Savannah Morning News entitled "Let's Legalize Prostitution," says, "I've never understood why prostitution is illegal."
Oxnard's argument is that we own our bodies, and should be able to do whatever we wish with our bodies. A professional football player can auction his body to the highest bidder from the NFL, yet "according to local, state and federal laws, I do not own the right to rent my body to someone else for pleasure." Oxnard does not understand why this is the law, and she says she has "no objection whatsoever to women, or men for that matter, who use what God gave them to make ends meet."
Many people, including myself, respond to Oxnard's outrageous suggestion with a natural repulsion. Her suggestion shows what happens when morality is completely removed from our thinking.
Oxnard sees no difference between an NFL player auctioning his body for the pleasure of sport and a prostitute auctioning her body for the pleasure of sex. The reason she sees no difference is she has removed morality from the equation, and cannot see that while there is nothing immoral about playing a game of football, there certainly is something terribly immoral about sex outside of the bonds of marriage.
It is interesting that she makes reference to a prostitute's body as "what God gave them." Oxnard recognizes the creative activity of God, but is unwilling to recognize His authority to expect responsible moral behavior from us in the use of our gifts. It's as if she is saying to God, "You created us, You brought us into existence, but You don't have the right to tell us what to do with what you gave us, so God, butt out of our lives!"
What suggestion will come next? Legalizing polygamy? We already have legalized abortion, and we are headed down the path of legalized homosexual marriage. And to all those people who say, "You can't legislate morality," here's a great example of how we do and should legislate morality.
Why should prostitution be illegal? Very simple-- it's immoral.