Dear Mike,
We just got word that a Planned Parenthood abortion
center in Kalispell, Montana will be closing down for
good next month.
CLOSING!!
And -- you guessed it -- that facility was the
location of Kalispell's 40 Days for Life vigil this
past spring!
Planned Parenthood told the local media it is closing
the center for economic reasons -- or as Stacy James,
a Montana Planned Parenthood executive, admitted to
the daily newspaper, "We've not had the patient
numbers to keep the doors open."
She then went on to blame the economy, the recession,
the health care crunch and a lack of government
subsidies.
Ms. James said nothing at all, however, about the
40 days of prayer, fasting and constant vigil in
front of the Kalispell facility this spring.
Karen, the local 40 Days for Life coordinator in
Kalispell, had no doubt as to why the clinic is
shutting its doors forever. "Our heartfelt pleas to
God for an end to abortion here in Kalispell are
being answered," she said. "Let us rejoice in our
mighty God who has looked down upon His with such
great favor."
The Kalispell team is currently holding a 40 Days for
Life campaign outside another local abortion
facility, but the first thing they did upon hearing
the news about the closure was to return to the soon-
to-be-closing Planned Parenthood facility to thank
the Lord for this amazing victory.
To see photos of the celebration gathering, go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=389
This now makes FOUR abortion centers where 40 Days
for Life vigils have been held that the doors have
been shuttered and these businesses have CLOSED
FOREVER. Praise God!
Where and when will the next closure come?
I'll trust the Lord to provide that information. But
for now, I'm hearing from a number of local teams
that abortion centers that are the sites of 40 Days
for Life prayer vigils are cutting their hours -- and
even closing their doors on days when abortions are
usually scheduled.
Could one of them be next to close? Let's pray!
When Ed arrived to pray at the 40 Days for Life vigil
in Everett, Washington on a day when abortions are
usually performed, he noticed a Planned Parenthood
volunteer outside the clinic. "A moment later, she
left and the doors were locked," he said. "I looked
over at the sign where the hours are posted and it
had changed."
The sign said: "CLOSED TODAY."
Ed's simple reaction: "Praise God!"
Prayer volunteers say business at this abortion
center in Everett is most definitely OFF. The
previous day had been very slow at Planned
Parenthood, and it looked like the only people there
were staff members.
As we have observed time and time again, Planned
Parenthood is a business about making money. If women
decide not to have abortions, they simply can't stay
open in a community.
Clinic hours were also cut back in Canton, Ohio.
"Planned Parenthood in Canton has posted a letter on
their door stating that they will be closed all
Saturdays during October due to administrative
needs," said Jill. The Saturdays, of course, all come
during 40 Days for Life. "Wow!" she added. "What a
coincidence!"
Obviously, it isn't really a coincidence. I have to
wonder if "administrative needs" is just their cover
story; could it be they're closed because they, just
like Planned Parenthood in Kalispell, are finding
they don't have enough customers to stay in business?
I hope and pray that is the case.
God is so good!
Here's today's devotional from Dennis DiMauro, the
Lutherans for Life representative to the National Pro
-Life Religious Council...
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DAY 23 INTENTION
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We pray for the strength to love those who do not
love us.
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SCRIPTURE
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But the Lord said "You have had pity on the plant for
which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which
came up in the night and perished in the night. And
should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which
are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons
who cannot discern between their right hand and their
left, and much livestock? Should I not be concerned
about that great city?"
-- Jonah 4:10-11
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REFLECTION by Dennis DiMauro
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God doesn't value people and things like we do. Jonah
loved a shade tree more than an entire city of sinful
people. We love our dogs more than a terrorist. We
love our cars more than a beggar on the side of the
road. And sometimes, we love our money more than a
child growing in a desperate teenager's womb.
But God isn't like us. Genesis 1 tells us that humans
were the capstone of God's creation. We were created
on the sixth day after God had completed the land,
the stars, the plants and the animals. Therefore, His
love for us is greater than His love for a plant, an
animal, or any other created thing.
And the book of Jonah tells us that He loves even the
most sinful people and seeks to bring them into His
merciful arms. And it's a love that seeks to touch
all of his created children: that desperate teenager,
the baby growing in her womb, even tyrants and
terrorists.
So it's up to us to imitate God's merciful love by
helping and praying for those who persecute us, and
those who don't love us back.
-----------------------------------------------------
PRAYER
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Gracious God, loving our enemies seems like one of
most difficult things you could ask of us. Please
remind us that this is how you love and that if you
ask it of us then you will give us the grace to do
it. This we ask through Christ our Lord, Amen.
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PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
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To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends:
http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2009day23print.pdf
-----------------------------------------------------
For Life,
David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life
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