prayer

California’s Planned Parenthood Loses Federal Funding!

Ultra-liberal California, America’s most populous state, has experienced nothing short of a miracle. This week, Planned Parenthood, the state’s largest abortion provider, lost all its federal funding.

The Monday night ruling, by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, translates to Planned Parenthood of California losing roughly $300 million per year. The loss greatly jeopardizes the organization’s ability to keep its doors open throughout the state. The only Planned Parenthood clinics that may continue to receive federal funds are those that do not provide abortions.

However, it must be noted; this is temporary restraining order put in place while a larger legal dispute plays out.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America sued the Trump Administration on behalf of its members earlier in July over provision in the Congressional Reconciliation Bill that prohibited federal Medicaid reimbursements for large nonprofit health clinics that provide abortions. The lawsuit argues that the law defunds Planned Parenthood’s services in violation of multiple constitutional amendments.

Planned Parenthood operates 114 clinics in California, serving more than one million patients each year.

In their lawsuit, Planned Parenthood argues that the funding ban enacted by Congress violates the organization’s First Amendment rights and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment by allowing smaller, independent abortion providers to continue receiving federal funds.

While Planned Parenthood is the state’s largest abortion provider, they argue that abortions make up a relatively small amount of the services they provide, less than 10 precent annually. The bulk of patient visits are for contraceptive care, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, cancer screenings and other primary care checkups.

However, despite their service figures, I would argue that if Planned Parenthood of California sees more than one million patients annually, that translates to over 100,000 babies murdered in the Golden State each year.

Given that in 2022, two-thirds of California voters approved adding abortion rights to their state constitution, I hope you will join me in praying this temporary ruling becomes permanent law!

And, a friendly word to those Christians who dislike Donald Trump: we are witnessing the most pro-life Presidential administration in American history.

Trusting God When Things Aren’t Going Your Way

My day was off to an exciting start and I was ready for another long drive in my current RV journey.

And then it happened.

A careless turn, in a parking lot of all places, caused major damage to the underside of the RV, leaving it inoperable. That and I’m still a couple of days from home.

I recorded the podcast while waiting for a mobile repairman.

All the questions: how much will this cost, how long will it take to fix, will I be stuck in this town for days?  Oy!

It’s so true though: it’s easy to be a full-of-faith Christian in the good times, but what do we do when things don’t seem to be going our way?

It all  comes down to knowing what it means to trust God.

To trust is to believe in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of something. So, when it comes to trusting God, that means believing in His reliability, His Word, His ability and His strength. The Bible says that God cannot lie. That He always keeps His promises. That He loves you and has good in store for you. Trusting in Him means believing what He says about Himself, about the world and about you is true.

Trusting God is more than a feeling; it’s a choice. A choice to have faith in what He says even when your feelings or circumstances would have you believe something different. Your feelings and circumstances are very real, and God cares about them both. But those things can change at any moment, even in an instant.

God, on the other hand, does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and therefore is worthy of your trust.

Trusting God is not about ignoring your feelings or reality. It is not pretending that everything is OK when it isn’t. Trusting God is living a life of belief in and obedience to God even when it’s difficult.

In Episode 143 of the The Brian Sussman Show Podcast, I detail the events of this morning, and expound on some key points to live a life of faith, even during times of challenge. Like I said, I created the podcast (and wrote this blogpost) while sitting in the broken RV.

As my wife told me over the phone: “Brian, you’re safe, you’re not in a hurry, it’s only money. I can fly down to be there with you if you would life. God’s got this.”

Phew. I love my wife.

Meantime, here I sit, patiently wait for the mobile repairman….

PS: after some phone calls, a great mechanic arrived, temporarily shored up the front hydraulic leveling jacks that were laying on the pavement beneath the RV, and said, “You’ll probably make it home okay.”

“Probably?” I asked.

“You should be good,” he restated. “Just avoid bumpy roads and speed bumps. The hydraulic jacks for the leveling system will need to be secured properly by an  RV repair outfit that can can it up on a rack.”

I thanked him profusely, paid him cash, and cautiously drove nearly 500 miles to our place in Northern Nevada. I winced (and prayed) with every bump. The freak 30-minute snow storm I ran into only stretched my faith.

By the way, all this and I didn’t mention the flat tire I had the day before!

 

How to pray & hear His voice

You’ve likely heard people speak of having a “prayer life.” But what does that mean?  Prayer is not just a feature of spiritual life, but the fuel that keeps spiritual life going.  In prayer, you are talking to Adonai (as we say in Hebrew), the King of all Creation,  thanking Him, praising Him, blessing Him, loving Him, and asking His help for  yourself, and others, in times of need.  Meanwhile, He desires to speak love and encouragement to you.  However, sometimes it’s hard for the human mind to comprehend that God does hear your prayers or that you can really hear His replies.  

The following keys to vital prayer are found in this excellent article at CBN.com