IN MIDST OF CHAOS, U.S. ADVANCES INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
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IN MIDST OF CHAOS, U.S. ADVANCES INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
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Our country is in deep pain. But our republic is built on strong values.
Authoritarian regimes around the world may choose this moment to mock, taunt, and antagonize us. Still, we must not forget the fundamentals upon which this nation is built. We must not neglect the principles for which our Founders declared “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
The first freedom of our nation is religious liberty. I am thankful that even in this time of pain, our leaders have not forgotten how important that value is and that we must press forward in its defense around the world.
It would have been easy to miss this week, but a powerful executive order advancing international religious liberty was signed by President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday. That order officially declares religious freedom to be a foreign policy priority — one we as a nation will “vigorously promote.”
Indeed, the order reasons that “our Founders understood religious freedom not as a creation of the state, but as a gift of God to every person and a right that is fundamental for the flourishing of our society.”
Now, the key thing about Trump’s new order is that it is not just words. It is a mandate for practical action.
The executive order requires the top leadership of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to solidify a plan ensuring America’s first freedom is a top goal in the “planning and implementation” of foreign policy and foreign assistance.
To make the message clearer, it requires $50 million of USAID’s dollars be directed to programs advancing international religious freedom (and it specifically requires that faith-based groups be given a fair shot at competing for those funds).
Going further, the order calls for the Secretary of State to work with U.S. Ambassadors at our embassies around the world, as well as with top leaders in Washington, D.C. — like the Treasury Secretary — to use diplomatic discussions and economic carrots and sticks to get other countries to pay attention to religious freedom.
Also — and this should not be missed — Trump’s order requires international religious freedom training of State Department personnel, particularly those who are preparing to serve overseas on our nation’s behalf. You might think being well versed in matters at the heart of our first freedom would already be a top priority for our people in foreign capitals — seems like common sense. But it is a real need.
This new executive order is powerful because it is yet another step of America “putting its money where its mouth is” in practical, on-the-ground diplomatic efforts.
Sam Brownback, U.S. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, thinks the impact could be “massive.” Brownback told CBN News the order places religious liberty abroad into “a whole of government approach on our basic foreign policy apparatus.”
Even as we pray for our nation wrestling through trying times at home, may we lift up our leaders and representatives abroad as they work to uphold and defend religious liberty — America’s foundational first freedom.
Aaron Mercer is a Contributing Writer with two decades of experience in Washington, D.C.’s public policy arena and Christian associations. A seasoned strategist, he aids organizations with research, analysis, and writing services, and he reflects on faith, technology, and the public square at FTPolicy.com.
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Praise God! Thank You Heavenly Father, for a president who cares about the persecuted church. A president who is protecting us from being the persecuted church as well. I stand in the gap to ask forgiveness for those who have let pride, anger, deception, hatred, and judgment blind them to the truth. Enlighten minds to see the real enemy and the ways they are being deceived. In Jesus name I ask. Amen.
Praise God!!!! I truly believe that President Trump is God’s man of the hour for this day and age. Let’s continue to pray for this man God has appointed in the Oval Office. That God would pour wisdom on him, guide and protect him, his family and the people working with him; that he carry out God’s mandate on him with sensitivity to His voice/prompting through the Holy Spirit indwelling him, as a child of God.
Wonderful! Now train Congress and Supreme Court and governors, mayors, CDC, etc. to honor the constitution and protect our religious liberty and all the others. No exceptions to the constitution for pandemics.
So proud of our President to care not just about America’s religious freedom but for religious liberty to be shared around the world “by taking the bull by its horns” as my parents would say ….
and doing something practical about it.
Thank you Donald J Trump ‼️
Father, we praise you and thank you for the good Resolutions being promoted for religious liberty in this nation and around the world. We ask that you would grant favor to our leaders as they promote these principles. We pray that there would be a shift in the spiritual atmosphere as nations agree. Lord give wisdom and direction to each leader and help them promote this in a positive way to the nation’s on the receiving end. Grant them favor. Strengthen them in the good fight of faith to say,” yes and Amen”. Give your angels charge over each one who is working on this project and divine appointments. In Jesus mighty name, amen.
Father, I thank You for Your anointed leader over this nation and the stirring in his heart toward Your agenda for this nation and a model that people in other nations will see. I pray he would be drawn closer to Your heartbeat continually – Your father heart for this nation. I pray even Your people called by Your name would see his heart from Your perception – Spirit to spirit and honor him. I pray Your peace guide him continually and Your Holy Spirit breathe new dunamis power into him and this nation continually. Flood us with rivers of living water to consume us in Yourself. You are a wise Father and You choose wisely for us – we are humbled and grateful to You. We ask that Your special grace and angel armies surround our president and all those in the seven mountains of society – government, media, educational systems, family, commerce, religion and arts and entertainment – with Your glory power, blessing, wisdom, strength, wealth, honor and truth and celebration of Who You are in and for us – all undeserved but graciously given through the atoning sacrifice of Your Son and our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Joy rises in our hearts when we consider Your awesome giving! We love you
PART 2
Mark 11
17/ And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all NATIONS the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Mark 13
5/ And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
6/ For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
7/ And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
8/ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
9/ But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
10/ And the gospel must first be published among all NATIONS.
PART 3
Luke 24
46/ And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47/ And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all NATIONS, beginning at Jerusalem.
Romans 16
24/ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
25/ Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
26/ But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all NATIONS for the obedience of faith:
27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen. (Written to the Romans from Corinthus, and sent by Phebe servant of the church at Cenchrea.)
PART 4
Galatians 3
5/ He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
6/ Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7 / Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8/ And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all NATIONS be blessed.
Revelation 7
9/ After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all NATIONS, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
PART 5
Romans 13
1/ Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. >>> FOR THERE IS NO POWER BUT OF GOD: THE POWERS THAT BE ARE ORDAINED OF GOD<<>>HE REMOVETH KINGS, AND SETTETH UP KINGS<<<: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
22/ He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
PART 6
Psalm 75
4/ I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
5/ Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.
6/ For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
7/ >>>BUT GOD IS THE JUDGE: HE PUTTETH DOWN ONE, AND SETTETH UP ANOTHER<<>>BY ME KINGS REIGN, AND PRINCES DECREE JUSTICE.
16/ BY ME PRINCES RULE, AND NOBLES, EVEN ALL THE JUDGES OF THE EARTH<<<.
17/ I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Part 1
Matthew 25
31/ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32/ And before him shall be gathered all NATIONS: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33/ And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Matthew 28
18/ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19/ Go ye therefore, and teach all NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20/ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 25
31/ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32/ And before him shall be gathered all >>>NATIONS<<>>NATIONS<<>>NATIONS<<>>NATIONS<<>>NATIONS<<>>NATIONS<<>>NATIONS<<>>NATIONS<<>> FOR THERE IS NO POWER BUT OF GOD: THE POWERS THAT BE ARE ORDAINED OF GOD<<>>HE REMOVETH KINGS, AND SETTETH UP KINGS<<>>BUT GOD IS THE JUDGE: HE PUTTETH DOWN ONE, AND SETTETH UP ANOTHER<<>>BY ME KINGS REIGN, AND PRINCES DECREE JUSTICE.
16/ BY ME PRINCES RULE, AND NOBLES, EVEN ALL THE JUDGES OF THE EARTH<<<.
17/ I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Father, thank you for our religious freedom. Thank you that President Trump is aware of the suffering of Christians in other countries under regimes who punish them for being Christians. I pray for the success of this.
The Freedom of religion is a First Amendment Right under the Bill of Rights that is written in the Constitution. I went back and reviewed the history behind religious freedom to understand the facts behind this when it comes to defining what Freedom of Religion entails. It means all religions are acknowledge to be practice with out restrictions curtailing the expressions of their beliefs. That is what I gleaned from reading the Freedom of Religion Amendment in the Constitution. I rather go by source or the book of the source to fully understand what is being stated, and then judge based on that.
How ludicrous that the Trump administration purports to promote religious freedom overseas, when he has mocked religions, other than Christianity, in America, to get the votes of the Evangelical Christians. He would ban religious freedom here, if it got him a vote! In America right now, we are watching him violate every basic tenet of Christianity while he lies about any and all things, with impunity. Besides, if money is involved in this plan, I’m sure it is going to go into the pockets of his venal, sycophantic appointees.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. God’s Word cannot be enacted by laws. It is a heart matter. Training people will not work. One has to have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior to be a Disciple. Taking God’s Word anywhere without The Holy Spirit will end in disaster. Perhaps it would be good for the President and the writer of this post-no disrespect intended towards them-to read Acts 19:11-17. Stay Safe.
What is a hypocrite? In religious terms, a hypocrite is someone who says one thing but behaves in a way that disagrees with their religious beliefs. Look up Mark 7:6 and James 1:22-23
Biden is the definition of a hypocrite. He uses his Catholic religion to garner votes but dishonors his beliefs by supporting abortion and gay marriage. Biden has been in office for 49 years and is on record- google the videos- for enacting racist policies. Kamala Harris has called him a racist. Biden’s 1994 crime bill hurt blacks and minorities. Trump is 73 years old and a public figure that was never called a racist until 3 years ago when he became President. Look up videos of Al Sharpton praising Trump among other prominent black activists before Trump ran for office. Black leader Malcom X said that the media can destroy a man and make the innocent look like evildoers and vice versa.
Biden is a known long time plagiarist. A plagiarist lies and steals from others.
Biden is as flawed, if not more so, than Trump. In his 49 years in government office, Biden hasn’t fixed anything that helped the poor rise out of poverty. Biden hasn’t fixed racism in America. He had 49 years to do something. Trump has only had 3 years and has enacted more legislation to uplift the poor than anyone. Read the statistics on employment for women, blacks and Hispanics under Trump before the pandemic purposely unleashed on us by the communist Chinese government,
With Trump, what you see is what you get. Look up the interviews Oprah Winfrey and Rona Barrett did with Trump 40 years ago. He’s the same man saying the same thing: he loved America then as he does now.
Where is all this irrational and SINFUL hatred of Trump coming from? Satan. Matthew 24:24 speaks about false prophets who lead us astray. There are many false prophets in the church but the most false prophets are in our media. CNN, MSNBC, ABC hire these false prophets to deceive us. Look them up. Fr Ed Beck comes to mind. Romans 16:17-18
The Democrat Party of today is not the party of JFK. The slow slide into socialism and communism by the DNC is akin to boiling the frog in the pot
Don’t be so willingly deceived do your homework and read from all different sources to get the truth it’s your obligation to find the truth
Lord, thank you that “religious freedom will be a foreign policy priority.” And a double thank you that all the employees at the State Department must take this training. I pray that the carry overs from the former administration who have fought against his president may change or leave to be replaced with people of faith who will embrace the value of life, religious freedom and tax dollars will be used for good. Jesus told the apostles to go out and make disciples of all nations. As America helps other nations, may their prayers return ten fold to bless Americans.
Jesus also told us to love one another. To welcome the poor, the homeless. What about that? The Trump administration violates everything about Christianity while purporting to believe, solely to get Evangelical votes. As a Catholic, I am ashamed of Christians who support such a venal man who never seeks forgiveness for a lifetime of illicit behavior, openly violating every tenet of Christianity, from cheating on his wives, to stealing the work of other men and refusing to pay them, to his many bankruptcies. He supports evangelical Christians for votes. I do not understand how anyone who can read and do their own research can believe Trump— about anything. He lies with impunity, while cheating America of good management, employing his children and unqualified donors, instead of experienced staff. America is failing under his administration. We must vote for Biden– a good Christian.
Biden – a “good Christian” who fully supports the slaughter of millions of God’s innocents by abortion, with countless more of those most helpless of God’s children on that “hit list”.
No, I won’t be voting for Biden.
I don’t know how anybody who calls them self a Christian can vote on the same platform as the democratic party. They are killing innocent babies, destroying the family unit, and they do not support Isreal. They voted God off of their platform at the dnc convention in 2012. President Trump is the most pro Christian, pro life president we have had for years! Yet you are offended at him because he may have said something 30 years ago. So you give Hillary and Joe a pass…?and wouldplace your vote on a corrupt man (Ukraine quid pro quo) who was a part of the most wicked administration in history.Not to mentionhis dementia. Wake up! President Trump is anointed by God to be a wrecking ball and tear down the corrupt establishment. He is God’s Cyrus. We are commanded to Pray for him. (And God will hold you accountable for yourvote.)
How can you call yourself a Christian and vote for A man who was involved in the most corrupt and wicked and ministration and history? How can anyone who calls themselves a Christian folk for any Democrat? Their platform is Anti-christian pro killing babies and pro sexual deviation. Wake up! God will hold you accountable for your vote.
Patricia, you need to read your cathechism because you are being led astray by false prophets. Let me address your concerns: Welcoming the POOR. Jesus said we will always have the poor. What way can we HELP them? The best way out of poverty is through education. Poor areas have terrible schools run by Unions who are out to enrich themselves. Poor people WANT school choice but the Democrats are against that because the Teacher’s Union is in their pocket. Trump is for school choice and even Catholic schools. Poverty ends with a job. Trump’s Jobs Act lifted millions of minorities out of poverty. Look up the increase in jobs for blacks and Hispanics under Trump. Reference Thessalonians 3:10 where dignity is restored by working. Welfare destroys poor families and destroys human dignity.
Homelessness grew in Democrat controlled cities. One cause of homelessness is released criminals unable to find jobs because of their criminal records. Trumps Criminal Reform Act changed that. Trumps economy got more unemployed back to work. Jobs reduce homelessness. Ironically it’s the rich white liberal cities with the highest rents and home prices.
Illicit behavior. Bill Clinton raped Juanita Broddrick. Biden raped Tara Reade. Clinton visited Epstein pedo Island 27 times. Biden remains silent on Epstein.
Catholic values do not support homosexual marriages but Biden married 2 men. Biden now fully supports abortion with no restrictions which is the Democrat platform. Biden supports religious persecution which is the Democrat platform: read about David Daledin and the many Christian bakers, photographers, etc being sued by Democrats like Kamala Harris and Xavier Becarra, etc. yet Muslim businesses aren’t being targeted.
Greed. Seriously? Biden’s been in government office for 49 years and owns at least 7 mansions. He monetized his position- which is THEFT- and used his political power to enrich his son Hunter to the tune of BILLIONS while throwing blankets to the Ukrainians instead of tote weapons Trump gave them. Biden let Russia invade Crimea.
Planned Parenthood is one of the largest donors to the DNC and its founder was a eugenicist who targeted the POOR especially blacks. Abortion clinics dominate black cities.
Democrats are now backing Antifa (look at Keith Ellison) and BLM which call for defunding the police. Imagine a lawless society where whoever is in power controls your city. Democrats want to disarm citizens. Democrats punish Christian businesses and deny Free Speech to anyone who doesn’t agree with them. When Trump won, Democrats RESISTED. Obama and the Democrats spied on Trump and pushed the now proven discredited Russian Hoax and Muller who stole $40 million from taxpayers for his report.
Democrats were the party of the KKK and Biden was a supporter of Grand Knight Robert Byrd. Democrats and Biden idolized murderer Ted Kennedy. They voted for corrupt pedophile Bob Menendez. Andrew Cuomo and Ralph Northam passed infanticide laws.
I could go on but I ask you to pray and open your eyes and remove the irrational hatred you have for Trump. We have never had a President who didn’t lie. We have never had a President who was a saint. We need a President who loves America. If America falls, so does the world.