US Governor backs call for month of prayer and fasting

The Governor of Tennessee has signed into law a Bill calling for a season of prayer and fasting.

House Joint Resolution 803 (HJR803), supported by both Republicans and Democrats, resolves to seek God’s blessing on the “State and Nation”.

Beginning on 1 July, Senator Mark Pody and Representative Monty Fritts plan to visit churches and courthouses in all 95 counties in Tennessee to read the Resolution and join in prayer together.

Transformation

In HJR803, legislators lament the suffering caused by violence, human trafficking, drug addiction and broken homes. In response, they resolve to set the month of July aside “as a time of prayer and fasting”.

The statement recognises God “as Creator and King of all Glory”, acknowledging his “authority to judge and to bless nations or states”.

As public servants, the signatories ask God’s forgiveness for their “sins and shortcomings” and call on him to “heal our land” and fill its institutions with the “peace, love and joy” of the Holy Spirit.

The statement concludes by asking all who are “physically able and spiritually inclined” to join them in “seeking God’s blessing and humbling ourselves to receive His Grace and Mercy, transforming ourselves, our communities, our State and our Nation”.

Christian heritage

Millions of children in the southern United States are set to learn about the prominent role the Bible has played in American life and culture.

Louisiana’s Governor, Jeff Landry, signed into law a Bill requiring all state-funded schools to display a simplified version of The Ten Commandments in every classroom.

And new teaching material for schools in Texas will introduce students to the Christian allegories found in CS Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – where Aslan, representing Jesus, offers his life to save Edmund the traitor.

Other lessons point children to the Christian belief that inspired William Wilberforce’s involvement in the abolitionist movement, and teach of the “dedication and sacrifice” of Queen Esther, “a woman who saved the Jewish people of Persia”.