Please share with your fellow prayer warriors.   Fighting For Faith, Family & Freedom Sunday, July 30, 2023 To: Friends & Supporters From: Carol Bauer As you know, my wife, Carol, prepares a monthly prayer alert. I hope you will share Carol's thoughts with your friends and fellow worshipers. Thank you for taking an interest in her monthly devotion. -- Gary Here in Washington, we are deep into the summer doldrums of high temperatures and stifling humidity. Now is the time when the nation’s capital typically begins to catch its breath and operates at a slower pace . . . at least for a few weeks! The news cycle is usually slow and the attention span of Washingtonians is short. Not so this year. Capitol Hill is abuzz with hearings on a wide range of interesting topics from so-called “gender transitioning surgery” for children to censorship, from UFOs to political corruption. There’s so much going on that political junkies find themselves bouncing back and forth between hearing coverage and analysis to the point of getting whiplash! And that doesn’t even take into account the increasingly frenzied pace of the 2024 presidential campaign. If you live in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, you may already be tired of political ads, mailings and event invites! Even if you don’t live in those early caucus and primary states, each day’s news has breathtaking new poll results to digest. But take heart! All of these investigative hearings and all the political chatter is aimed at choosing the nation’s leadership in November of 2024. And though you may want to tune out a bit longer, I encourage you to focus on the important decisions at hand and the impact you can have on the outcome, even now. There is a battle raging for the heart and soul of America. You may not like that terminology, but you need look no further than the language and actions of those who want to fundamentally change America. They are using the power of local school boards, lax prosecutors, regulations proposed by unelected bureaucrats and the stifling of our freedom of speech to accomplish their goals. The hour is late, and it is well past time for men and women of faith to answer the call to get involved. Perhaps you are reading this and thinking that the next national election is well over a year away. What’s the hurry, you wonder? Let me encourage you to use this time to take stock, do your research, lay out a plan to execute with family and friends and become the informed person in your circle of influence to whom others will turn. According to the Pew Research Center, more than 158.4 million people voted in 2020 and that was 67% of all citizens 18 and older and a startling 5% increase from 2016. Even with that impressive increase, triggered by COVID-induced emergency changes to early voting procedures, about one-third of eligible voters did not vote. These are the same people who will complain about the candidate choices, mumble about high inflation and make scathing remarks about the trajectory of the culture in the US, but they will not take a few minutes to register and vote. Let’s start an effort NOW to get millions more of our fellow believers registered to vote so they can participate in the candidate selection process AND the general election! My Faith Votes is a non-partisan movement that motivates, equips and activates Christians in America to vote in every election. They have a clear and easy website that outlines how to organize a voter registration drive in your church and how to connect with local elected officials to discuss issues of importance to men and women of faith. These small steps now set the table for the next 15 months with an eye on the faith community having a greater impact on the selection of the nation’s leadership and thus the culture in which we can thrive and preserve religious freedom for all. My Faith Votes reports that 25 million Christians who are registered to vote often do not vote in presidential elections. Let’s work together to get these men and women of faith to become more active and engaged Christian citizens! And, let’s look hard for those in our circle of influence who may not be registered and let’s get them registered to vote, empowering them to better address their concerns over the trajectory of our nation. The future of our country and our religious freedoms are at stake. We must not take them for granted. Instead, we must be actively involved in our communities by being the hands and feet of Christ on a personal level and by impacting our country in ways that will set the stage for flourishing faith communities. Heavenly Father, as the dog days of summer stretch before us, prompt us to take stock as individuals and faith communities. Give us the vision to look upon these days as a gift, a time of renewal and preparation. Remind us that we are not only called to be men and women of faith in our own personal lives, but we are also called to put feet to our faith in the nation where You have planted us. Impress on us that a conscious decision to pull back from our role as Christian citizens could quickly result in limiting our rights to practice our everyday faith and the ability to share Your grace with those in pain and without hope. Open our eyes to the mission field that lies right before us. Give us hope, strength, wisdom and words to answer your call. Thank you, Dear Lord, for walking alongside us in a troubled world. May we rise to Your challenge.  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