A share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with ardent zeal and intense exertion.
Matthew 11:12
…But those who hope in the Lord
Isaiah 40: 31
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Endurance, Tenacity & Push Back
I wanted to share some things that God has put on my path recently through listening to Dutch Sheets’ “Give Him 15” and a sermon from Dutch’s brother, Tim Sheets, “Push Back.”
Take heart and endure, for we are the remnant and are made for such a time as this. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. Stand in Holy Ghost boldness. Jesus won the victory on the cross. What Calvary did to the enemy is permanent. It’s forever irreversible. Jesus goes before us. We are the remnant and nothing can stand against our God. We have authority to tell the enemy NO. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound and whatever you loose will be loosed. The King needs an Ekklesia to say NO. We will come against you with angel armies, Jesus’ Word, and in His Name. In Jesus’ name we say, “You can’t have the unborn, your time is done, you can’t have our kids, our families, our marriages, our money, our health, our inheritance, our schools, our churches, our laws, our city, our state, our communities, our nation. We reclaim this territory for Jesus. To God be the glory!
God, please give us the tenacity to endure. Thank you for giving us the tenacity to stand for truth in the face of overwhelming odds. God, we know you will show up and fight for us. Please give us tenacity in the face of overwhelming fatigue. We thank you for your strength in us. We thank you for tenacity in the face of a humble assignment. Let your Holy Spirit flow through us in love, kindness, and compassion to those who are hurting and all who cross our path. Give us your strength to never give up until the answer comes when abortion will end in our city, state, and nation. You are with us in this battle and we will never quit and will not waver. It’s time to storm the gates of hell. In Jesus’ name we will keep advancing to take back what the enemy took. We decree and declare Pittsburgh will be a Sanctuary for Life. Help us to hold fast until you come, Lord Jesus. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen
–Donna
Stories from the Sidewalk
It was a beautiful morning to pray and witness! I debated whether or not to sidewalk advocate, or to kneel and pray. I am so inspired by Anthony’s witness of prayer in his wheelchair that I decided to let my posture of prayer on my knees be my words of advocating today. About four couples entered those doors during my shift. Lovely Barbara reached out to all of them, and two of them did take the information. They were all prayed for. The Guardian Protection vans were parked in front of Planned Parenthood for the entire time, which seemed ironic. I wish they were to protect the innocent unborn lives that were being destroyed there this morning. It was beautiful to see Judy and Pastor Joe with their joyful group from Lincoln Place Church of the Nazarene as they arrived right on time for their shift. Thanks to everybody for coming and praying today! God bless you!
Nikki
The LP Nazarene crew was Pastor Joe and Judy, Carol and Chuck. There was a steady flow of clients walking into PP. I was able to intercept a daughter and mom who didn’t know where PP was. I was able to speak to them very briefly and they took one of our resource cards. There were an unusual number of people looking for directions, so it was a blessing to help them out, and we had an opportunity to pray with a couple of them.
Judy
Planned Parenthood seemed to have a revolving door during this shift today. In the early part of the shift, many passersby were not polite and somewhat annoyed. One even chanted, “My body, my choice” as she passed us, pointing her index finger each time she emphasized her message. The trouble with this message is that the baby is not her body. It is a unique, new individual and the baby does not get the choice to live if the mother decides to abort it. We continued to pray our rosaries as she chanted. Someday, maybe she will change her heart.
The people going into the clinic were, in some cases, showing facial expressions of emptiness and forelornness. Some even passed by once before deciding to enter…those are the ones who may really end up having the most regret in years to come. Those are the souls we need to constantly keep in prayer so that they can find God’s love and forgiveness.
One man named Bryan stopped by to talk a bit. We found a few moments of laughter in his message that he gives in support of life. He said, in a matter of words, if we evolved from snails and monkeys into human beings, then why are these creatures still around? Do you say hi to your cousin when you visit the zoo and see the apes? It gives one pause… In his words, our society lacks hope and we need to keep helping society to realize hope exists from God!
Beth Ann
Witnessing to the Segway tourists…
Glad to have Joyce join with Fr Jim and I for the ride to Pittsburgh. Joyce has been my faithful pro-life partner since we started to be active in the ministry many years ago. It is a blessing to serve with her and Fr Jim.
We had many interactions with those on the sidewalk, mostly positive. A 40-year-old man spoke with Joyce for a long time. His girlfriend was pregnant when they were in college. He didn’t want her to abort and said he would leave her if she did. Unfortunately she did. He left. Still grieving and in tears today. I gave him the Rachel’s Vineyard brochure. He said he would contact them.
Another man pulled up to drop off a friend. He had his window down. He took material and seemed to appreciate what I said. The girl’s three-year-old son was in the back. He was on the phone a few times. I pray that she didn’t follow through.
Cil
It was fairly quiet today from 3:00 to 5:00.
Fr. Jim gave us a blessing before he left with the 1-3 shift.
We only saw one lady come out but there was a man sitting in a white SUV for the whole shift, who, according to the 1:00 – 3:00 shift, had dropped a lady off for PP. He was apparently waiting for the lady in PP with a very well-behaved child in a car seat.
Pete, Kathy, and Mary Catherine are shown in the photo, but we were also joined by Mary Ellen.
As a group, we prayed two Rosaries and two Chaplets. Mary Ellen had a beautiful meditation for the Sorrowful Mysteries, based on the Stations of the Cross, and she prayed that a baby would be saved today, and that all the parents of aborted children seek God’s forgiveness and make it to heaven.
We had some comments from passersby, mostly positive, like God bless you, and thank you for doing what you do.
Pete knelt on the sidewalk in front of PP praying the Rosary for the better part of the shift.
Larry