“Fight Evil, Fight Evil & Share Jesus Christ”
This blog today is in honor of “Aunt Mary”. My husband’s Aunt passed away recently. She was a godly woman with a profound faith in her Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ. We know without a doubt that she is in the presence of Jesus. The Sunday before she passed we were with her. I held her hand and she opened her eyes wide and said, “fight evil, fight evil and share Jesus Christ”. Words of wisdom from a faithful prayer warrior and follower of Jesus Christ. They sound a lot like marching orders.
Mary believed God’s promises in Psalm 91 and that is how she lived her life. God did bless her with 97 wonderful years and a marriage of 74 years just celebrated in August. God is so good! All the time! In every conversation with her she would always speak of the Lord. Thank you Jesus for blessing us with Aunt Mary!
So how do we fight evil? We show up on the sidewalk and know that the battle belongs to the Lord. We pray without ceasing. We can read, pray and believe Psalm 91 every day over our families, homes, communities and nation. We put on the Whole Armor of God. We pray and ask God to help us and give us His strength. We believe all God’s promises found in His Word. We share Jesus with all those we encounter and all who cross our path. We trust in God and do not lean on our own understanding and in all our ways acknowledge Him and He will make our paths straight.
CLICK HERE TO READ EPHESIANS 6:10-18
CLICK HERE TO READ ROMANS 10:9
CLICK HERE TO READ MATTHEW 28:18-20
God we ask for your strength to persevere in this battle to which You have called us; the battle for LIFE. Holy Spirit help us, fill us and empower us to go forth in victory because we know the battle is already won. JESUS is the victor. He is with us. He goes before us, behind us and is beside us. He also upholds us with His righteous right hand. He gave us armor to wear; the Helmet of Salvation, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Belt of Truth, the Shoes fitted with the Gospel of Peace, the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We thank you Jesus that you are our Protector, Provider, the Banner over us. You are our Redeemer, Savior, Lord of Lords & King of Kings. You are sovereign over all and nothing is hidden from your sight. Lord use us to rescue those being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. God change the hearts and minds of those being deceived into believing lies and especially those in the church. Awaken us and revive us Lord so that we burn hot for you. We thank you, praise you and give you all the glory due your name and ask all this in the most precious name of Jesus. Amen.
~Donna
Now…on to today’s shift reports!
Nikki & Cheryl, 7:30 – 9:00
It was a peaceful time on the sidewalk this morning. Cheryl and I set up all the materials and prayed on our own on either side of the sidewalk. Luckily it was not busy yet. I hope it stays that way. I used the blue tooth speaker to play Christian music while we prayed, it added to the sense of peace. At one point, three young teens (2 girls and a boy), stopped by to ask if we were giving out “necklaces”…pointing to the rosaries. I explained that they were to help us pray and remember Jesus, who is our Lord and Savior, and who died for our sins, to rescue us from the devil. They were not mocking at all…they seriously wanted to know how to pray it. I told them that the big beads are for the Lord’s Prayer (which they said they knew), and I told them the 10 smaller beads in between are the “Hail Mary” prayer, which comes from the Bible, when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and greeted her, “Hail, full of Grace, the Lord is with you.”, and the rest of the prayer comes from the Bible, when Elizabeth greeted Mary, saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” I suggested that they listen to the rosary on You tube to learn more. They were very appreciative and each chose a rosary from the beautiful ones that were donated at Tuesday’s event. It was a blessing to see such sincere young kids who are searching to learn and have an interest in God. Our guard, Hutch, came a little after 8:30…it was nice to see him again. He takes his security role seriously and we feel very safe with him there. Barbara, Judy and Chuck arrived on time for their 9am shift with big smiles and hugs. We have a blessed family in 40 Days for Life in Pittsburgh. I am grateful for you all.
Richard, Barbara & Judy, 9:00 – 11:00
Barbara, Richard, Chuck and I joined Cheryl who was finishing her shift. Clients going in and out was steady but not heavy. No one going in accepted any materials. I had one lady, after coming out, asked me for a brochure showing the the stages of the baby in the womb. As she looked at it, she was very appreciative and said that is exactly what she was looking for. After thought: I should have asked her why she was interested in it. We had opportunities to pay with a few people on the street. -Judy
Linda & Sam, 11:00 – 1:00
It felt like a regular Thursday 40 Days 365 shift, as we had our usual people, including Sam and Ed, with faithful Bob showing up for weekly prayer as he passed by on the sidewalk. Unfortunately no other churches or pro-life people were scheduled.
It was a busy abortion day with couples entering and exiting PP. No one was interested in receiving any help or information.
Sam had an interesting extended conversation with a woman who regularly passes us on the sidewalk, often giving negative remarks. She spoke at length with Sam, expressing the tired lies that pro-life laws are harming women, preventing them from getting the medical help they need. Sam wasn’t able to change her mind, but we thought it interesting that she was willing to have a conversation on the subject. -Linda
Carolyn & Cil, 1:00 – 3:00
Patty, Joyce, Carolyn, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Fr Jim
It’s good to be back on the sidewalk. The weather was perfect. Fr. Jim led our shift with prayer and drove Joyce and I down. So thankful for his leadership and commitment. It was nice to be with shift partner Carolyn again. And Patty was a great addition.
People were mostly pleasant and some accepted literature. One was a young man who went back in. But he left at the end of the shift with his girlfriend. He tried to be strong but I think was troubled. Sad.
Even when we can’t talk with the abortion bound, we are able to talk with those passing by and provide them with fliers to share. I thank God for a conversation with a man who had “what if” questions… Rape, incest, birth control. He was adopted. So we discussed that too. And a lady who works at a Pittsburgh hotel took a couple fliers so she may have opportunities to share…
Bill showed up early. We put away the supplies so he wouldn’t have to himself. Thank you Nikki for checking in with us! -Cil
Bill D, 3:00 – 5:00