Everyday,
we seem to hear something shocking and surreal in the news. We’re overwhelmed
by the sense of dread brought on by these happenings, and these current events also
break our hearts. We're appalled by the atrocities being inflicted, not just on
the unsuspecting, but on the innocent and the helpless. Nothing seems sacred or
precious anymore. Nothing.
As
followers of Christ familiar with His grace and mercy, we cringe knowing that
our country has long deserved His punishment. We deserve God's judgment for
allowing sin to creep into our private lives to the point that we've been
rendered impotent. Sin has established strongholds in our families, our
churches, and overrun our communities and society at large. How else could we
co-exist with all the moral evils around us while claiming a relationship with a
Holy God?
Knowing
the gospel, we are keenly aware that our sinful state is a congenital
condition. Christ died on the cross and rose again so that we would no longer
live for ourselves but for God and others with His kingdom and eternity in
view. God entrusted us with a charge to be salt and light but we haven't been
faithful as we should be.
We
are rife for punishment.
While
pondering these things recently, I was reminded of wicked Nineveh. This is cause for hope. "When God saw what they did and how they
turned from their evil ways, He relented and
did not bring on them the destruction He
had threatened." [Jonah 3:10] Picture the repentance and revival that went
on by reading the short chapter, if not the book.
Are you at all curious about what God may do if
He finds us humbling ourselves, praying and seeking His face - in the wickedness
of our state?
Charles
Grandison Finney, probably the greatest revival preacher there ever was said, "There are two
kinds of means requisite to promote a revival: the one to influence men, the
other to influence God. The truth is employed to influence men, and prayer to
move God. When I speak of moving God, I do not mean that God's mind is changed
by prayer, or that His disposition or character is changed. But prayer produces
such a change in us it renders it consistent for God to do as it would not be
consistent for Him to do otherwise. When a sinner repents, that state of
feeling makes it proper for God to forgive him. God has always been ready to
forgive him on that condition, so that when the sinner changes his feelings and
repents, it requires no change of feeling in God to pardon him. It is the
sinner's repentance that renders His forgiveness proper, and is the occasion of
God's acting as He does."
The CHAP legislative
team, acknowledging our own sense of incompetence and inadequacy to lead and change
legislations that infringe on our private lives, invite you to assemble with us
in Harrisburg, on Tuesday, September 8, at the Capitol's main rotunda, from
10:00 AM to 12:00 noon. Please share the CHAP HELP Day Event - our Home Education
Lobby Program - by sharing this e-Newsletter and this link. Let's
be an army of prayer warriors.
Before
lobbying our legislators’ offices like we've done in the past, we will focus on
lobbying the God of Heaven first, Who alone understands our woes, and can
change the hearts of men and women - our lawmakers, our judges, executive leaders,
our church ministers, and our fathers and mothers. We will hear speakers, read
from the Scriptures, and we will pray.
At the end, everyone is encouraged to meet with your local (or another)
Representative and/or Senator and appeal to them concerning our rights and liberties
as families and parents. We need many hands to help distribute copies of the
DVD Overruled - to key
lawmakers. We are working towards passing HB1512, an Act providing for parental rights protection; and HR63,
a Concurrent Resolution petitioning the Congress of the United States to call a
convention of states limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the
United States that impose fiscal restraints on the Federal Government, limit
the power and jurisdiction of the Federal Government, and limit the terms of
office for its officials and for members of Congress. [Short and longer clips from Overruled like this one can be viewed on Youtube.]
There are other details here.
MEET OUR
SPEAKERS:
Carolyn Conner is a long time homeschooler
and homeschooling advocate. She and her husband Ron adopted six children
whom they home educated, including two with special needs. Always
interested in current events and government, she became more involved in
the political arena once her children finished their formal schooling.
She uses her skills and talents to further socially conservative
principles, especially related to life and end-of-life issues.
Carolyn is currently serving as a leader in politics, is active in her
church where she directs the Women-to-Women outreach and has taught
government, citizenship and elections classes at her local homeschool
co-op. She lives in the Lewisburg area with her husband, two
20-something children with Down Syndrome, and likes to travel to see her
daughters and 15 grandchildren.
Steve Davies
was born and raised in Houston, Texas, attended Texas A&M
University, graduated
with a BS degree in Nuclear Engineering. He worked in the electric utility
industry for 36 years, and held a variety of positions related to environmental
permitting, environmental compliance, new power plant development, human
resources, government relations and asset management. His family moved
from Houston to
PA in 2000 for his job. He retired in 2013, and since 2014, he has been
doing business development and marketing work for engineering and environmental
consulting firms. He began working with the Convention of States in early
2014, and assumed the COS PA State Director position in July, 2014. He is
married and has 3 children: one is out of college and recently married, and the
other two are in college/grad school. They home-schooled all of their children
from K thru 8th grade.
David
Miranda has worked
most of his life in the technical sales profession, the last 13 years selling
communications technology solutions to the healthcare industry. David and
his wife Ann both came to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord in 1984 and 1985
respectively. Since then they have endeavored to follow the teachings of
the Bible and to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the
LORD. They began homeschooling their two children in 1999 and home
schooled through high school. Today their children, Mark and Sarah, use
their talents in music and cartooning to honor and serve their Savior, Jesus
Christ. Together the family has served in Spanish ministry, nursing home
ministry, and other ministries in the local church.
David serves as National Grassroots Director for ParentalRights.org, the organization
spearheading the effort to realize the Parental Rights Amendment (PRA) to the
U.S. Constitution. He speaks in churches and other venues to raise
awareness to the increasing erosion
of parental rights that threatens the liberty of Christian parents to teach and
train their children in the nurture and admonition of the LORD.
David’s objective is to move concerned Americans
to actively support efforts to realize the PRA in order to stop the
erosion of parental rights and provide the constitutional protection that will
preserve time-honored parental rights in America.
Join the
gathering if you can and if you can’t, please pray with us wherever you may be.
"I urge, then, first of all, that
petitions, prayers, intercession
and thanksgiving be made
for all people — for
kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful
and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." ~I
Timothy 2:1,2