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SEEK THE WELFARE OF THE CITY, PART 1

seek the welfare1 Where does the concept of "philanthropy" come from? Where did we get the idea of erecting hospitals, orphanages, homes for the elderly and infirm? Today we might think that these institutions were created by billionaires who made their money off railroads, steel mills or the stock market, or perhaps the government dreamed them up. But the historical fact is that these institutions for the public well-being were created during the one-thousand-year-long Byzantine Christian Empire. Only later did these ideas take root in Western Europe, and from there to the rest of the world.

When the people of Israel were carried away into Babylonian captivity because they had forsaken the Lord, many of them thought they should form their own closed cultural group to preserve their ethnic identity, having as little to do as possible with Babylon. But the prophet Jeremiah told them - "Seek the welfare of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its welfare you shall have welfare.... For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope for your future. You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart. I will be found of you, says the Lord, and I will return you from captivity". (Jer. 29:7, 11-14)

Thus the idea of seeking the welfare or well-being of society at large seeped from the Jewish nation to surrounding nations such as Babylon, Greece and Rome, but those nations limited such social programs to "their own kind," not sharing their wealth with other tribes and peoples. It took Christ's Great Commission to "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations" before this idea of sharing one's well-being with others – even one's enemies – could take root.

For the first three hundred years Christians were "in captivity" of frequent persecutions, but still reached out in love to those around them. Why? Because Christ Himself was and is the great Philanthropos, the "Lover of Mankind." This divine love for mankind enables us to perform genuine philanthropy: [read more...]

   


 
 

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If 5% of the people who see this would give $5 per month (just 17¢ per day!) – two cups of coffee with your favorite friend at your favorite coffee shop – we could cover our operating expenses and do much more in spreading the word, supporting orphans, and providing accessible housing for the disabled. My wife and I left our careers over 30 years ago to serve in Russia as missionaries: we're now "semi-retired" – we've put on a new set of semi tires and keep on trucking! We live on our retirement income and volunteer our time: we receive no financial support from Agape Restoration Society. Our websites and ministry are funded by us and just a few friends. ...thanks!

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NEXT, THE NEWS:
 

COLORADO GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL EXPANDING ASSISTED SUICIDE
from: LiveAction

SYNOPSIS:Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed legislation last week expanding the state’s assisted suicide laws. According to Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, many states like Colorado seek to allow Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to administer suicide because there are not enough physicians willing to take part in the process. In Canada, where assisted dying is becoming more common and less stringent, palliative care is being de-emphasized in favor of giving the means of suicide to those who request it. Assisted suicide alleviates none of these problems, but gives in to them… Assisted suicide does not enhance the goal of medicine: "do no harm."
Pray for Gov. Polis to realize that he will be old or ill someday and may become a victim of his own foolish law of assisted suicide. "Advance Directives" give other people the right to decide whether you should be kept alive or be killed.

 

THE PRO-NATALIST MOVEMENT GATHERS MOMENTUM
from: Mercator

SYNOPSIS:Pope Francis’s address to the States General on Natality in Rome sparked debate here and there. Along those lines there is fantastic news. Demographer Lyman Stone, avidly pro-family, is not a demographer content with simply generating statistics: "I think economic factors delaying the life course are the dominant force shaping declining marriage, alongside marriage penalties in tax and welfare policies." There is no societal substitute for marriage. Two days after the IFS post, Catholic Review ran a piece aptly entitled “Virginia Institute launches Pronatalism initiative to address global birth dearth.” This lack of new children problem is now being addressed.  
Thank the Lord for the Pronatalism initiative and ask Him to open people's eyes so they will realize that abortions, excessive birth control, homosexuality and lesbianism are causing a demographic collapse: society breaks down when there aren't enough younger people.

 

OCCUPIED UKRAINE: ORTHODOX PRIEST'S "ESPIONAGE" VERDICT DUE 2 AUGUST
from: Forum 18 News Service

SYNOPSIS: After a year in Russian detention, the "espionage" criminal trial of Ukrainian Orthodox priest Kostiantyn Maksimov was due to begin on 6 June. If convicted, the 41-year-old faces prison of 10 to 12 years. Fr Kostiantyn, of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), is in Investigation Prison No. 2. Fr. Maksimov faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted on Russian "espionage" charges. He was seized by occupation forces in May 2023.. Another Ukrainian Orthodox priest, Fr. Feognost Pushkov, in the village of Kuryachivka in Russian-occupied Luhansk Region, also of the UOC, was raided with a search warrant issued by Russian-controlled Zhovtneve District Court in Luhansk.
Intercede for Fr. Kostiantyn Maksimov facing prison for "espionage" and for Fr. Feognost Pushkov whose home was raided and he is facing prosecution.

 

FDA BAN ON SHOCK DEVICES FOR THOSE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES FACES NEW HURDLE
from: Disability Scoop

SYNOPSIS: The Food and Drug Administration is poised to again ban the use of electric shock devices on people with developmental disabilities. Advocates are warning that some in Congress are quietly trying to circumvent their plans. A bill making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives would limit the FDA’s ability to do away with so-called electrical stimulation devices. Since that time, Congress clarified that the FDA does have the right to ban the devices, which prompted the agency's latest regulatory proposal. Since all of the individuals participating in shock treatment at the Judge Rotenberg Center are doing so by court order, the provision would effectively nullify any FDA effort to bar the devices, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network said.
Pray that Congress will not block the FDA's ability to do away with the inhumane so-called "electrical stimulation devices" (shock treatment) on people with developmental disabilities.

 

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY DISCUSSED HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE WITH THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH from: Religious Info Service of Ukraine

SYNOPSIS: During the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the Patriarch’s support, prayers, and assistance to Ukrainians affected by Russian aggression. He emphasized the importance of humanitarian aid, including the return of abducted Ukrainian children and prisoner exchanges. Zelenskyy also acknowledged the Patriarch’s role in involving countries worldwide in the peace efforts and promoting Orthodoxy in Ukraine.
Thank the Lord that Pres. Zelenskyy was able to discuss with the Ecumenical Patriarch the need for support and assistance to Ukraine in the face of Russia's efforts to destroy Ukraine.

 

U.S. HOUSING CRISIS DRIVEN BY LACK OF AFFORDABLE OPTIONS, NOT OVERALL SUPPLY
from: Disabled World

SYNOPSIS: Research findings suggest that addressing housing prices and low incomes are more urgently needed to address housing affordability issues than simply building more homes. The researchers examined U.S. Census Bureau data from 2000 to 2020 to compare the number of households formed to the number of housing units added to determine if there were more households needing homes than units available. Analysis of the housing markets across America revealed that while most areas have a sufficient number of housing units, the incomes required for purchasing or renting these homes often fall short.
Pray that Christians will support the creation of Agape Restoration Communities for the poor, the elderly, and the disabled; not just expect the government to fund low-income housing for them.

 
 

 
 FASTDOMAIN 

NOW, OUR VIEWS:
 

 

YOU WILL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS

 

 

You will know them by their fruits[Our friend Viktor in Ukraine wrote this article so you can learn what is really happening there.]

"You will know them by their fruits." Good people bring forth good deeds, evil people produce evil deeds. War is pure evil. There will be so-called patriots in different countries telling people about our national security and our way of life. The news about the war is sanitized: we only learn about one side or the other advancing or retreating, jets being shot down, bases and buildings being bombed, etc. We hardly hear about the real. human side of it.

But war is pure evil – on both sides. Men are snatched from the street and sent to the front, often without any training... and some die the first day. Many civilians die, many are wounded, their homes are destroyed, their farm land is ruined, etc. The tractors sit idle in the fields because there are no men to drive them. The shops are becoming empty because there are no drivers for the trucks to deliver food to the shops. The only people who profit from war are politicians, generals and weapons producers. Every war has a beginning and will have an end... until it starts again and again. War is hell on earth and is the opposite of what Jesus taught our human race.

When war ends, the pain does not go away. Many families lose their loved ones, many of those who survive are seriously wounded either physically or psychologically. Their bodies and souls are injured. Many of the wounded soldiers will become unwanted by the same country that sent them to war. How do you heal and move forward? It is not easy. Even time does not have dominion over it. There are doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, different rehabilitation therapists, but they all have their limits.

In Ukraine, people are very family- and community-oriented, they like to be surrounded by people. Ukrainians do not break a sweat in an elevator when someone gets closer than two feet to them. Often times in a "marshrutka" (route taxi), as one of my driver friends told me, he tries to mix people up: man, woman, man, woman when he ckecks their tickets. People ride shoulder-to-shoulder, interact, talk to each other about everything and everyone, usually not even having an inch of distance between them. By the way, they are not only OK with it, they want it. After they get out of the marshrutka, everybody is happy.

After this war ends, many wounded soldiers will not have a place or someone they can return to. If they end up living on the street, society in general will not necessarily greet them with open arms. In a reabilitation center such as an Agape Restoration Community where several generations, young and old, live in God's love, true miracles can happen. Wherever Ukrainians go, they have to be connected to God, community, and land. Serving Liturgy, cultivating land (at least a garden), and having community all together, is this not the true Kingdom of God here and among us? If you would like to "Donate," please designate your gift for "Ukraine."

Get the full article on our ARC-News blog at blogspot.com.

 

 

A Personal Note: Our friend Simon in Tanzania, who runs an orphanage/school,road to Vision Complex is finishing the road to their complex that was washed out due to the recent floods there: note the one man with a bucket of rocks on his head and another man pouring rocks onto the road. It's hard manual labor when they don't have modern road-building equipment! And here's a 9-second video of them manually preparing the roadbed: building-the-road.mp4.

kids with sickle cell anemiaSimon has about 50 AIDS orphans and kids with sickle cell anemia (very common in Africa). He has just sent us this message about the need of those kids with sickle cell anemia for medications: Vision-Complex-meds-for-kids.pdf. They urgently need $270 by June 25th, so if you can help with this, please go to our "Donate" page and designate it for "Vision Complex" - thanks in advance!

David W., a believer in Uganda who joins us in our "Morning Prayers" when he has a decent internet connection, asks for prayer because Uganda is suffering from a severe drought: there has been so little rain that they can't grow enough food – thus they also need food. Please pray for David, for food and rain in Uganda! If you would like to "Donate," designate your gift for Uganda, we'll send it on to him.

Viktor, a friend from our former church who's now in Ukraine and has specialized in de-mining the mines and other explosives from the war, estimates that it could take decades or even centuries to restore these formerly very productive fields of crops, now scarred and useless by the war. He informs us that as of last November, there were approximately 75,000 war amputees, so by now the number would likely be about 100,000. These men and other disabled people receive only a pittance from the government – not enough to live on. We are trying to promote the concept of building ARCs (Agape Restoration Communities) for them and their families: 12 living units and a community room/chapel, all wheelchair-accessible. Each ARC will be a 70 ft. x 80 ft. building plus gardens and parking. Please pray that this plan will be supported by individuals, churches, and the nations that are aiding Ukraine, and pray for peace – that faith will conquer fear, hope will conquer dispair, and love will conquer hate. You may "Donate," and designate your gift for "Ukraine." And please share these special requests: A Personal Note. Thanks in advance!

 

 

Who Are We?   Please remember to pray for Christians in Secularized Countries, and for...

  Your fellow-servants,

  

  Bob & Cheryl

  p.s. Be fishers of men: you catch them – He'll clean them.

 

 

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