Category Archives: Prayer

Abortion, Culture, Culture War, Media, Politics, Prayer, ProLife, US History, West Virginia

The Evil We’re Facing Demands Full Engagement

Note: this was my WV For Life Treasurer’s Letter for February 2019.

2019-01-31 Virginia Gov Ralph Northam Defends Defending Infanticide - Only Talking About Infanticide of Disabled Babies
2019-01-31 Virginia Gov Ralph Northam Defends Defending Infanticide – Only Talking About Infanticide of Disabled Babies
#BornAliveAbortionSurvivorsProtectionAct
2019-01-31 National Right to Life Praises Sen. Sasse's Call for Action on Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
2019-01-31 National Right to Life Praises Sen. Sasse’s Call for Action on Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
#BornAliveAbortionSurvivorsProtectionAct

We’ve been warning* all who will listen for some time now that pro-abortion “ethicists” (so-called) have been openly teaching that morally there’s no difference between killing a baby in the womb and killing one that’s already born. (Some are even arguing for killing babies as old as 24 months!) The preborn baby has the same potential as the post-born baby, and the newborn on the knee has practically the same vulnerabilities as the baby in the womb. We know it’s morally wrong to murder either one. They claim it’s ethically “acceptable” to kill either one. Their lunatic lie will be shocking to the gullible public for a while, yet not a few pro-aborts are already fully numbed to the insanity of senselessly killing a baby who is born and breathing. Simpler pro-abort talking heads may have not yet mastered the talking points of the “ethicists.” I just watched national news video of one mindless pro-abort “robot” using the tired trope of “you-can’t-control-women’s-bodies” to justify Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s recent sickening suggestion that a baby with a deformity, once already born, could be made “comfortable” while a “discussion” should be held [about whether to let the baby die as opposed to feeding and caring for her]. We know that a preborn baby’s body is not her mother’s body. Yet how mindless does an abortion supporter need to be to pretend that a baby already born is somehow to be seen as the mother’s “body”? This is the evil we are facing. Battle lines are forming. Join us in bringing facts to light, the truth of what’s right to a society being manipulated by absolute evil. Your pro-life actions, words, and donations are needed now more than ever.

Join WV For Life here: wvforlife.org/membership

Already a member? Give here: wvforlife.org/donate

*Listen to WVFL State Convention keynote speaker Wesley J. Smith, J.D. Recorded on October 21, 2017 at Horizons Church in Lost Creek, WV

Abortion, Culture, Culture War, Media, Politics, Prayer, ProLife, US History, West Virginia

Celebrations + Pro-Life Network Needs Bigger Megaphones!

Note: this was my WV For Life Treasurer’s Letter for November 2018.

Congratulations! Through determination, donations, and diligence, our State Constitution is officially amended to clarify: it contains no right to murder preborn babies! The costly, deadly, 25-year fiction formed by “Panepinto” is over! Across America, friends of West Virginians For Life join us in tears of joy, fist pumps, and excitement. In our rejoicing, some takeaways:

We’ve paved pathways of partnership resulting in a powerhouse of pro-life networking. Beyond National Right To Life and West Virginians for Life, we have pro-life legislators (Republicans and Democrats) in the GOP-led State Senate and House, Susan B. Anthony List, Students for Life of America, and the Family Policy Council of WV. This alliance knocked many thousands of doors, did rallies, calls, festivals, billboards, TV, radio, social media—you name it! Two of three key goals were realized. Kavanaugh: confirmed! Amendment One: ratified! The third goal was close: pro-life Patrick Morrisey was only 3.2% behind Joe Manchin, who has betrayed his pro-life values and constituency (even voting against A1). Morrisey won more counties (31 of 55). Primarily three populace counties (Monongalia, Cabell, and Kanawha) gave Manchin barely enough votes for reelection. Those counties are where to focus prayers, preparation, and persuasion to gain victory in future tight races. We sent Manchin a resolute warning.

A1’s margin of victory was narrowed by confusion: reports indicate pro-lifers entering ballot boxes without hearing a word about A1, and errantly voting no. Some struggled to comprehend the wording (which, due to legal necessity, had to ask for a positive response to negative statements), not to mention the unfortunate, unavoidable shift from “YES” (in promos) to “FOR” (on ballots). For all our networking, we needed bigger megaphones. WVFL’s treasury was emptied as a well-spent war chest. Pro-life donations are needed now more than ever.

Give here: wvforlife.org/donate

Abortion, Culture, Culture War, Media, Politics, Prayer, ProLife, West Virginia

My WV For Life Treasurer’s Letter for March 2018

Dear West Virginia Pro-Lifers:

Our ongoing struggle for life has certainly had its ups and downs recently. Planned Parenthood (the eugenics-spawned abortion giant that illegally sells babies’ body parts) was yet again funded (to the tune of half a billion of the taxpayers’ dollars) in the recent 2,322-page, $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill debacle in Congress. Somehow that “happened” despite having pro-life majorities in the US House and US Senate, and despite having a pro-life president, and amidst multiple calls and pledges to defund the murderous monstrosity.

Meanwhile, here at home, our pro-life majorities in the WV Senate and WV House of Delegates came through on giving West Virginia citizens the chance to regain control of our own state constitution in the upcoming election in November. “Vote YES on Amendment 1” must be our steady mantra from now until then. We are headed straight into one of the most crucial ideological battles of our time. West Virginians are overwhelmingly pro-life, but this will be a war of words & worldviews, pitching our educational efforts for truth against the propaganda, distortion, and lies from the generals and armies of the pro-abortion camp. Abortion money is about to flow into our state, resulting in a media blitz of misinformation. The fact is that ever since the WV State Supreme Court’s baseless, wrongful 1993 Panepinto opinion, claiming that the WV state constitution (which was always neutral on abortion) not only contains a right to abortion for any reason but also supposedly demands an entitlement in which the government must pay for abortions, the floodgates were opened. Some $10,000,000 of our state tax monies have paid for some 35,000 abortions. We’re talking about elective abortions and lots of them. Amendment 1 is the only way to fix the Panepinto ruling and regain control of our constitution.

Churches and nonprofits are permitted by law to advocate for any constitutional amendment they wish to support, and they will not lose their tax-exempt status for doing so. They are also permitted by law to conduct voter registration drives, and will not lose their tax-exempt status for doing so. 501(C)(3) monies may be used to advocate for “Vote YES on Amendment 1.”

Please help. Visit YesOn1WV.com [note: that site was hosted only for the time period leading up to successful passage of the amendment. -DJ] for information resources, to sign up (aka “enlist”) and to help coordinate and ensure LIFE’s success in this crucial effort. We’re not likely to ever get another chance to fix this. Let’s roll!

Become a member of West Virginians For Life.

Donate to West Virginians For Life.

With determination,
Pastor Doug Joseph
WV For Life Treasurer

Bible, Church, Culture, Culture War, Doctrine, Marriage, Politics, Prayer, Theology

A Pastor’s Statement Regarding Kim Davis

Kim Davis has done an admirable job of executing the portion of her job she could do, and respectfully declining on the part she cannot do, due to the legal chaos of the moment. The flawed and lawless decision of the SCOTUS in June has caused chaos. Between that lawless ruling, and the lawless command of the Kentucky governor to the state’s county clerks, and the lawless command of federal judge Bunning directly to Kim, she is between a rock and a hard place, yet she has taken a principled stand that is to be commended.

The Kentucky laws she is sworn to uphold have not been changed, and she is still upholding them. It would require a legislative response to the SCOTUS ruling to revise any Kentucky laws.

Furthermore, of the Kentucky laws that apply to clerks regarding marriage licenses, none of them pronounce any penalty for refusing to give out a license, but they do provide a misdemeanor penalty for giving a license to a couple who may not, per Kentucky law, constitute a marriage, and that includes a misdemeanor penalty for giving a license to partners of the same sex. Since the Kentucky legislature has not revised those codes, and no revisions or new laws by the Kentucky General Assembly have been signed into law by the Kentucky governor, it is simply too early in the process for same-sex couples to be demanding any licenses there, and it is wrong (see below) for either the governor or the judge to command such, given the current situation.

The state governor is sworn to uphold Kentucky law, which directs him (not just in some ruling, but in written, duly legislated and signed law — see the KY state Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or KY RFRA) to seek out a method of enacting the government’s goals in a way that is “least restrictive” of Kim Davis’ religious freedom. Ordering her to violate existing Kentucky laws and at the same time ordering her to violate her conscience, is not the least restrictive means to enact what he is presenting as a governmental goal.

Similarly, the federal judge is bound to abide by federal law, which requires him (not just in some ruling, but in written, duly legislated and signed law — see the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or federal RFRA) to seek out a method of enacting the government’s goals in a way that is “least restrictive” of Kim Davis’ religious freedom. Ordering her to violate existing Kentucky laws and at the same time ordering her to violate her conscience, is not the least restrictive means to enact what he is presenting as a governmental goal. Jailing her is certainly not the least restrictive way.

Given the comparative ease of simply revising the marriage licenses by removing all clerks’ names from them, the accommodation she requested is quite reasonable, and both the governor and the judge violated existing laws in their actions and inactions. Since both were willing to abide by her being wrongfully incarcerated rather than accommodating her, I advocate for them to be impeached. I certainly urge protest over their violations against Kim Davis. In spite of calling for their impeachment, I have been fervently praying for them, and will continue. If you are not praying for them, you should be.

Ultimately, a pastor’s advice is of most value to fellow believers. Regarding believers, as per Romans 14, we are not to judge or condemn another believer regarding matters of conscience, even if, or rather especially when, his or her conviction of conscience differs from your own. The whole point of religious freedom is that not everyone’s religious convictions will match with yours, and we need to allow other believers, who may have stricter views than ours, to hold those views. That said, I don’t disagree with Sister Kim Davis on this. Even if I disagreed, I would still support her 100%.  Even if you don’t agree with her views and position, I implore you to study Romans 14, and grant her the liberty to have a conviction you don’t share. Don’t bash her on social media. Support and pray for her, as well as praying for her state, her governor, her legislature, the judge, and the SCOTUS whose ruling caused the chaos we’re all enduring.

Mentoring, Ministry, Poetry, Praise Reports, Prayer

Jim Kilgore: A Hero Goes Home + The Long Wait (by Mike Carlen)

“Here I sit in a hospital room listening to beeps, moans, the hissing of oxygen with a slight gurgle of moisture, and the sound of shallow breathing that you can’t help but be unnerved by. Moaning and yelling from a distant room filters into our consciousness occasionally, disturbing our focus on our loved one. The wait continues. Its 2:13am and another all-nighter awaits… unless that angel named death comes knocking.

“We have been here for 7 days now. Hanging out in waiting rooms, having friends you haven’t seen in quite sometime drop by who wish to express their wishes of love and support and leave snacks, food and gift cards. And the family…gathered together with those you love the most, knowing if nothing is said, its ok.

“Meeting those unknown faces in the ICU waiting room that are waiting and suffering in spirit just as we are, wishing for better days. Their loved ones flat on their back, completely helpless. Unmovable. No, we don’t know all of their names, but we have become comrades in spirit, encouraging each other and wishing for a clean bill of health so we could escape this unlikeliest of hangouts. It’s cold here. Chairs are miserably uncomfortable. It makes me wonder why they make the chairs so miserable. Do they think if they were plush, we wouldn’t want to leave? Like that favorite restaurant that is so pleasing to the palette of the eye, let alone the stomach, you just don’t want to leave this fine establishment because its so pleasant? No, in a heartbeat we would leave. If only we could take our loved one with us.

Read more of this powerful tribute to James Kilgore Sr, and soul-searching reflection on what really matters, via Mike Carlen’s Blog – The Long Wait.

FIRST UPDATE, Wednesday, February 5, 2014:

It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we report the passing of our beloved Reverend James L. Kilgore. Brother Kilgore went home to be with the Lord early this morning (February 5). Please be in prayer for the Kilgore family during this difficult time.

James Kilgore, Sr 1926-2014

Brother Kilgore’s son, Pastor Jim Kilgore, wrote the following:

These are the hardest words to write… Our Dad passed away at. 2:25 this morning. We felt it was inevitable following his fall on Sunday, February 2, but hope sees beyond the inevitable and refuses to hear the words, irreversible. We are Kilgores, and miracles are part of our DNA. Over the past few days, our family poured out our love on him with words, songs , the Word, prayer, touch…and finally, we were able to release him! This morning Dad rests in the presence of Jehovah. You, our friends and his, have been magnificent! We love you!

—Jan, Jean, Jim and family.

SECOND UPDATE, Wednesday, February 5, 2014:

Regarding the passing of Reverend James L. Kilgore, beloved long-time pastor, former Texas District Superintendent and former Assistant General Superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church International: Brother Kilgore went home to be with the Lord early this morning, February 5.

Funeral arrangements are as follows:

Family visitation – Friday, February 7 from 5-6:00 p.m.
Public visitation – Friday from 6-8 p.m.
Visitation – Saturday, February 8 from 9-10 a.m.
Funeral – Saturday at 10:00 a.m., with private burial service to follow

The visitation and funeral will be held at Life Church, 9900 Almeda Genoa Rd, Houston, TX 77075. The phone number there is 713-910-1911.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked donations be sent to Life Church and designated to Ima’s Home for Children.

Please be in prayer for the Kilgore family during this difficult time.

Culture War, Doctrine, Prayer

The Strongholds Between Your Ears | Author Nathan D. Maki

Image of Masada, ancient stronghold in Israel
In AD 73, at the Fortress of Masada, 960 Jewish freedom fighters held off 15,000 Romans for 3 months.

What were strongholds?

In ancient times civilizations would build strongholds as fall-back points. When an enemy army invaded in such force that they either defeated a nation’s army or could not even be met on the field of battle everyone would abandon their unprotected villages and fall back to strongholds.

We find a mention of strongholds in Judges when the Midianites were invading, filling the land like grasshoppers. The Israelites built themselves strongholds in the mountains. Invading armies could strip the land of its crops, pillage and burn the villages, but behind the high walls and towers of these craggy fortresses the people would survive.  And as long as the people survived so would the nation.

Strongholds between my ears?

2 Corinthians 10:4 tells us that… [read more of this excellent article by my friend and fellow author, Nate Maki.]

Abortion, Culture War, Prayer, ProLife, Theology

1 Easy Step to Help the Cause of Life

D.Joseph-response-to-SOTU-2014-01-28-at-10

Our president just finished his State of the Union address. I watched it live on YouTube. (The live link is gone, but archive links abound.)  Many statements were laudable. Some represented some degree of obfuscation and thus were irritating. Sometimes I agreed, while at other times I disagreed strongly. However, one phrase in particular both “stuck out” and especially irritated me. There was nothing terribly wrong with the statement itself. What was wrong was the conflict between the statement and the extreme pro-abortion attitude of the man who issued the statement. He indicated that the best thing we can do for our children is to invest in early education (referring to pre-K schooling).

Mr. Barrack Obama is the most extremely pro-abortion president in history. (Some time ago he actually attended the annual “Planned Parenthood” conference, officially addressed them, and concluded by telling this tax-supported, baby-murdering organization, “God bless you.” Thus, it galled me to hear him say that what was most beneficial for our children was to invest in early education.

After his speech, his supporters (who organized the follow-through) invited online viewers to go to a White House-operated website and watch while questions from Twitter and the blogosphere were answered by a panel appointed by the administration. The hashtag (to post a question or participate in the conversation) is: #SOTUchat

So, I fired up my Twitter account, put in the hashtag, and tweeted this:


Feel free to copy and paste. If you have a Twitter account, retweet it. If you have a Facebook, a blog, or whatever, use your platform say something for the cause of Life. Regardless, do something, even if it’s just teaching your family in devotions or discussing it with a neighbor or coworker. Do something to participate. Be part of the Pro-Life Generation that will see Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton overturned in our lifetime.

Note: If you are looking for solid stats and amazing information to bolster your argument in favor of life—great information that is usable in everything from family devotions to debates with liberals—click to watch the awesome video below.

During quite a few of these frozen days of being snowed in, I spent many, many hours editing the video of a major Pro-Life event, at the request of Dr. Wanda Franz, Ph.D., who is the former head of the National Right To Life Committee, and current President of West Virginians For Life, and Mary Anne Buchanan, who is the Program Director for West Virginians For Life. Recently I finished the DVD production phase, and this past Monday I mailed out the DVDs to the WV For Life office. The next phase was to distill the video stream for YouTube. Last night I finished that aspect of this project, and started the upload to YouTube. Early this morning (in the wee hours) the upload to YouTube was finally completed. Behold:

Share this link to an awesome Pro-Life video: http://youtu.be/Im5pFzDfpWA

Church, General, Ministry, Miracles, Prayer

3 Huge Tips For Drawing Closer to God

These three huge tips about how to “pray through” will really help you draw closer to God:

  1. To “pray through” has nothing to do with praying until you force God to change His mind and help you. God’s mind does not need changed. To “pray through” means to pray until you get through your own insecurities, until you get past your own carnal desires, until you get past your own doubt, complacency, and fear. To “pray through” is to pray until you’ve allowed God to change not just your mind but your very nature; to pray until your carnal nature is mortified, put to death.
  2. God already wants to help you; He wants, more than you can comprehend, to help you. There is nothing about prayer that is twisting God’s arm and making Him say “Uncle.” It is one’s own carnal nature than needs to be compelled and controlled. There is a point as one prays where his or her own spirit is helped and strengthened by God to the point that, together with God’s Spirit, the inward man triumphs over the outward man. This is the moment of victory; the moment of breaking through; the moment of being able to lay aside the bitterness and grant forgiveness; the moment of seeing past earthly, sin-cursed values and weighing matters truly according to eternal values.
  3. “Praying through” is the moment of getting through all that must be gotten through if we are to become like our Lord. We cannot become (as He is) the very image of God, the very human manifestation of God, but we can hope to become (as He is) a glorified and perfected man. That is the goal, and we desire to pray for His help until we reach it. Let us endeavor to “pray through.”