First there were human rights, then came animal rights, and now there are plant rights. I guess rocks are next.

The most tragic dimension of all this is that a culture increasingly ready to euthanize the old, infanticize the young, and adamant about a “right” to abort unborn human beings, will now contend for the inherent dignity of plants. Can any culture recover from this?

Today is the National Day of Prayer for the United States. The purpose of the National Day of Prayer is to gather the people of our country to come together and pray, particularly for our nation and for those in leadership on all levels of local, national, church and educational areas of influence.

Let me encourage you to participate in this special day of prayer for our nation. Over 40,000 prayer events are scheduled to take place this year across the country -– at churches, schools, government buildings and other public gathering places. Some local pastors and I will be hosting an event in Agawam, MA during the lunch hour. To find an event near you, click here.

Tony Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, shares his thoughts on prayer and challenges Americans to unite in prayer in this video.

(Video length: 1:02)

Related articles:

• Tony Dungy No. 1 on NYT Bestsellers List
• Tony Dungy: Asking ‘What’ Instead of ‘Why’

Michael Yon reporting from Iraq:

I may well have spent more time embedded with combat units in Iraq than any other journalist alive. I have seen this war – and our part in it – at its brutal worst. And I say the transformation over the last 14 months is little short of miraculous.

The change goes far beyond the statistical decline in casualties or incidents of violence. A young Iraqi translator, wounded in battle and fearing death, asked an American commander to bury his heart in America. Iraqi special forces units took to the streets to track down terrorists who killed American soldiers. The U.S. military is the most respected institution in Iraq, and many Iraqi boys dream of becoming American soldiers. Yes, young Iraqi boys know about “GoArmy.com.”

As the outrages of Abu Ghraib faded in memory – and paled in comparison to al Qaeda’s brutalities – and our soldiers under the Petraeus strategy got off their big bases and out of their tanks and deeper into the neighborhoods, American values began to win the war.

Iraqis came to respect American soldiers as warriors who would protect them from terror gangs. But Iraqis also discovered that these great warriors are even happier helping rebuild a clinic, school or a neighborhood. They learned that the American soldier is not only the most dangerous enemy in the world, but one of the best friends a neighborhood can have.

HT: Bob Krumm (who is currently at Fort Benning getting ready to head for Iraq himself)

The California ruling that appeared to declare most homeschooling in that state illegal has been vacated, and the case will be re-heard. Pacific Justice Institute has the details.

Pacific Justice Institute has just received word that the court ruling which declared most forms of homeschooling unlawful in California has been vacated. This means the Rachel L. decision, which has sparked a nationwide uproar, will not go into effect as it is currently written. The Second District Court of Appeal has instead decided to re-hear the case, with a new round of briefings due in late April. It would likely take the court several additional months to schedule oral argument and issue another decision.

HT: The Point

                        “For Sale” – Price reduced to actual value

Bobby Lee Cutts, Jr. was sentenced to 57 years to life in prison yesterday for the killing of his pregnant girlfriend, Jessie Marie Davis, and their unborn daughter, Chloe. Cutts and Davis also have a 3-year-old son, Blake, who is now being raised by Jessie’s mother, Patricia Porter. Through tears of grief Patricia spoke directly to her daughter’s killer in the courtroom, extending the following words of forgiveness before the judge imposed the sentence.

I have had this conversation in my head with you a million times. It is a day I will never in my life forget. When I walked in that room, the presence of evil was so strong in there you could hardly breathe, and I knew my daughter was dead. I never ever thought she walked out of that room. And when you walked up there that morning, Bobby, I never in my heart wanted to believe you could have hurt her, but in my soul I knew you had.

I remember pulling into the driveway the next day and asking God, “Where is my daughter?” and he said, “She’s with me, and she’s fine.” And I made up my mind that day that whoever did that, I would forgive them because I never wanted to allow that kind of hatred into my life. I would have never been able to raise Blake and hate you. And I’ve written a lot of things here, and none of them seem to make any sense. None of this makes sense. There’s mornings I have to cover her picture up or I can’t get out of bed. And I just move on. I pretend that one day she’ll walk through the door again, but you and I know she won’t.

I serve an amazing God, Bobby, a God that forgives and heals and restores people. And I want you to know today that I do forgive you. And I know that it’s only through him that I am able to do that, and I pray that you find him, and you find the forgiveness that nobody else in this room can give you. It doesn’t matter what anybody else in this room feels for you. And that one day you will tell the truth. I think you lied to so many people. I don’t think you know how to tell the truth. I think you’re going to have to learn all over again.

And, your Honor, I may not have a family to go home to after this, but I pray that you make a way for this man to someday be able to get out of there and begin a new life, and to hold his son, maybe as a man. And I hope you pray that I’m able to raise him to forgive you. He knows what you did. You would not believe the stories he’s told us.

In a press conference after the sentencing, Patricia was asked: “Not even just [during] the trial, but beforehand you were very forgiving. How are you able to do that?” Patricia responded:

I know it sounds very cliche, but it’s because of Christ, because I’m forgiven, because I remember when Jesus hung on the cross and he asked his Father to forgive people that killed him. Nobody understands what it’s like to lose a child more than God did. He was able to forgive, and because of that I am able to forgive.

What a tremendous testimony to the power of God’s forgiveness in the believer’s life through Jesus Christ. “Love your enemies, do good to them … Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful … Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:35-37)

From yesterday’s Boston Herald on House Bill H3922:

Parents who spank their kids – even in their own homes – would be slapped by the long arm of the law under an Arlington nurse’s proposal to make Massachusetts the first state in the nation to outlaw corporal punishment … If signed into law, parents would be prohibited from forcefully laying a hand on any child under age 18 unless it was to wrest them from danger, lest they be charged with abuse or neglect.

This is a well-intended but bad piece of legislation that interferes with parental rights of discipline in the home. Spanking is not child abuse. (See related post for an explanation of the differences: To Spank or Not To Spank). The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 1999 that the current law clearly draws “a line between permissible physical discipline and prohibited abuse.” The hearing for H3922 is scheduled for today, at 10:30 am at the State House in Boston before the Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities.

What do you think about this proposed ban? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Quick facts: In 1979, Sweden became the first country in the world to ban spanking. Corporal punishment in the home is currently illegal in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Latvia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and the Ukraine. (Source: Boston Herald)

Related post: To Spank or Not To Spank

Dr. D. James Kennedy has retired as senior pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Dr. Kennedy, 76, preached his last sermon from the pulpit of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church on Christmas Eve 2006. He suffered a cardiac arrest four days later and has since been unable to return to the pulpit. A tribute worship service honoring the extensive ministry of Dr. Kennedy will be held in the main sanctuary of the church at 11:00 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 23.

I took Evangelism Explosion training at Coral Ridge back when I lived in South Florida. Dr. Kennedy taught some of the sessions, and I was impressed to learn that he still went out on visitation every week with the evangelism teams from his church.

Update: Rick Phillips shares a nice tribute to Dr. Kennedy over at Reformation 21.

Related posts:

• The Power of a Question: “If you died today . . .”
• D. James Kennedy Passes Away (1930-2007)

Our heartfelt prayers go out to those who suffered loss in the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississipi River in Minneapolis. The bridge is close by Bethlehem Baptist Church where John Piper pastors. At the Desiring God blog, John Piper shares about his bedtime devotions last night with his wife and 11-year-old daughter following the collapse of the bridge. It is a good read with some serious theological reflection mixed in with a personal glimpse into a family at prayer.

The New Seven Wonders of the World were announced today in Lisbon, Portugal. (Today’s date being, appropriately enough, 7/7/07). The New7Wonders were selected by worldwide popular vote from 21 candidates chosen from the top 77 different nominees. Here is the list unranked, as they are all considered equal:

The New 7 Wonders of the World

• Chichen Itza – Mexico



• The Great Wall of China – China



• Machu Picchu – Peru



• Petra – Jordan



• The Roman Colosseum – Italy



• The Statue of Christ Redeemer – Brazil



• The Taj Mahal – India

And here are the remaining candidates that were not selected:

• The Acropolis – Greece



• The Alhambra – Spain



• Angkor – Cambodia



• The Easter Island Statues – Chile



• The Eiffel Tower – France



• Hagia Sophia – Turkey



• Kiyomizu Temple – Japan



• The Kremlin – St. Basil’s



• Neuschwanstein Castle – Germany



• The Statue of Liberty – U.S.A.



• Stonehenge – United Kingdom



• The Sydney Opera House – Australia



• Timbuktu – Mali

The Great Pyramids of Giza

• The Great Pyramids of Giza – Egypt



• The Great Pyramids of Giza were part of the final 21 candidates for the New7Wonders but were removed from competition out of respect for Egypt. They are the only remaining structures from the original list of Seven Wonders of the World. Thus, they will be listed together with the New7Wonders as the Eight Wonders of the World.

So, have you ever visited any of these sites? Which are your favorites?

Note: The New7Wonders Project is sponsored by The New7Wonders Foundation. The N7W Foundation was created in 2001 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber, with a mission to protect humankind’s heritage across the globe. Fifty percent of all net revenue raised by the New7Wonders Project is to be used to fund restoration efforts of important monuments around the world.

Additional Note: Here is the original list of Seven Wonders of the World:

• The Colossus of Rhodes
• The Great Pyramids of Giza
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
• The Pharos Lighthouse off Alexandria
• The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
• The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

This traditional list was derived from various lists compiled by ancient Greek observers. The Pyramids of Giza are the only surviving structures from the original list. The rest no longer exist.

This just in from The Christian Post on the defeat of the proposed marriage amendment in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts lawmakers blocked a proposed constitutional amendment Thursday that would have let voters decide whether to ban gay ”marriage” in the only state that allows it.

The proposal, which sought to change the state’s Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, needed 50 votes to advance to the 2008 statewide ballot. It got 45, with 151 lawmakers opposed.

The narrow vote was a blow to efforts to reverse the historic court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the state. More than 8,500 gay couples have ”married” there since it became legal in May 2004 …

The measure needed 50 votes in two consecutive legislative sessions to advance to the ballot, and it had passed with 62 votes at the end of the last session in January.

I live in Massachusetts, and this is a big disappointment to the many people in the state who feel they should have the right to vote on an issue of this magnitude. The Massachusetts Family Institute collected a record-breaking 170,000 signatures in support of the amendment, nearly three times the required signatures needed for certification by the Secretary of State and the greatest number ever in Massachusetts history.

In November 2003, it took only four Massachusetts judges to make gay marriage legal in the state (by a 4-3 vote). Now in June 2007 the proposed amendment misses the ballot by five legislative votes. Meanwhile, the entire voting populace of Massachusetts is left out of the decision making process, including the 170,000 who signed the petition. I feel the legislature has really let the people down on this one.

Related story: The Day I Met Billy Graham
______________________________________________________________

Contact and address information for the Billy Graham Library (Museum):
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
1 Billy Graham Parkway
Charlotte, NC 28201
Phone: (704) 401-3200

The Billy Graham Museum in Charlotte, NC is set to open this Tuesday, June 5. The official dedication was held Thursday.

Hundreds of friends, family members, ministers and politicians had gathered to dedicate a library celebrating the ministry of Mr. Graham, whose vast popularity lent him the title “America’s pastor.”

Standing on a platform before the Billy Graham Library, former President George Bush delivered the keynote address, his voice cracking into a sob as he said Mr. Graham was “the man, the preacher, the humble farmer’s son who changed the world.” Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton also spoke of how Mr. Graham had transformed their lives.

Infirm and rarely appearing in public now, Mr. Graham approached the dais using a walker and noted the sense of completion and twilight that marked the speeches before his.

“I feel like I’ve been attending my own funeral, listening to all these speeches,” he said to the crowd’s nervous laughter. “I’ve been here at the library once, and my one comment when I toured it was that it is too much Billy Graham. My whole life has been to please the Lord and honor Jesus, not to see me and think of me.”

The museum, also known as The Billy Graham Library, will hold various memorabilia from Graham’s life including childhood photos, his college yearbook, personal papers, and his wife’s engagment ring. There will also be footage of Graham’s evangelistic crusades from around the world.

Billy Graham is a wonderful man of great character and integrity, and I am glad they have put together this library to honor his work for Christ. Does anybody have any favorite Billy Graham stories they would like to share? I have one, but I think I will save it for a separate post next week. (Update: Here it is! The Day I Met Billy Graham)

Related articles:

• Billy Graham – The Song
• Ruth Bell Graham – Poems
• A Quote from Billy and a Quote from Ruth
• The Day I Met Billy Graham