"Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in his commandments. . . He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD." (Psalm 112:1,7 NKJV)
1. Storms Pound Midwest - AP
Winds knock out power to thousands in Chicago. Death toll from remnants of Tropical Storm Erin rises to 26; storms cause 500 flight delays in Chicago.
· Gracious Lord, we ask You to uphold and comfort those who lost loved ones and property. Meet their needs and bring peace into their troubled circumstances.
· The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. (Nahum 1:7, Ps. 9:9)
2. New port-screening requirement divides Congress - AP
The specter of a nuclear bomb, hidden in a cargo container, detonating in an American port has prompted Congress to require 100 percent screening of U.S.-bound ships at their more than 600 foreign starting points. The White House and shippers maintain that the technology for scanning 11 million containers each year doesn't exist, and say the requirement could disrupt trade. Current procedures including manifest inspections at foreign ports and radiation monitoring in U.S. ports are working well, they contend.
Nonetheless, President Bush earlier this month signed the measure into law, praising its shift of funds to states and cities at higher risk of terrorism attack and saying he will work with lawmakers to ensure the cargo screening provisions don't impede commerce.
· Lord we give praise for watchmen making strategic decisions toward protection of the United States. We ask for the security that unveils hidden plans of destruction. Please give wisdom to establish screening systems efficiently and in a timely manner.
· And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. (Job 11:18, Ezekiel 34:28)
3. Sales Soar for Morning-After Pill - AP
In the year since it was approved for over-the-counter sales, the morning-after pill has become a huge commercial success for its manufacturer, but its popularity and solid safety record haven't deterred critics from seeking to overturn the milestone ruling. A coalition of conservative groups, including the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America, has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington seeking to reverse the FDA ruling. The groups contend that the FDA acted unwisely under political pressure and lacked authority to approve the same drug for both over-the-counter and prescription- only distribution based on the user's age.
· Lord, let Your voice be heard. We pray for a God consciousness to arise in our federal court system. We ask for favor in reversing the FDA ruling.
·The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. (Prov. 14:27)
4. Court Upholds Ban on Bible Distribution to Fifth- Graders - ABC News
A federal appeals court Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling that prohibited the distribution of Bibles to grade school students in a southern Missouri school district.
· Lord, please stir the hearts of many toward this generation to receive truth. We believe this is a chosen generation for Your glory. We ask for the overturning of this ruling in a higher court of law for victory. Bring down the opposition to delivering Your Word.
·But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: . . . . (I Peter 2:9)
5. CNN airs 'one of the most distorted programs' ever - WND
A CNN special series airing this week entitled "God's Warriors" - produced and anchored by the network's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour - is "one of the most grossly distorted programs" ever aired on mainstream American television, according to a media watchdog report. The first part of the series, "God's Jewish Warriors," compared Jewish and Christian "radicals" to Muslim supporters of suicide terror, presented anti-Israel commentators with no counterbalance, falsely labeled the West Bank as Palestinian land, and minimized Jewish rights to the Temple Mount - Judaism's holiest site, the critics said.
· Lord, we pray for you to send an alertness in the spirit of viewers to discern the corrupt messages in the content of this program. Please expose the deceptions and cause this program to be a failure.
· The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. (Prov. 12:19, Ex. 23:1)
6. "See You at the Pole" to be Held Next Month at Schools Across the Nation - Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
This year's "See You At The Pole" will be held, Wednesday, September 26 at 7 a.m., throughout America's schools, at or near their flagpoles. This Texas born, homegrown youth ministry is now held every fourth Wednesday in September, at or near 7 a.m. SYATP, as they call themselves, is now in its 17th year! I am attaching the verse for this year's event, event particulars, contact information and the history of "See You At The Pole."
· Precious Lord, may this year's SYATP be a major breakthrough in the Spirit of prayer for the youth of this nation. We pray for overwhelming support and participation in numbers and national attention for a chosen generation. We even now begin to pray for Your presence to be strong among each group that gathers across our nation.
· The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. (Ps. 145:18,19)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." (Psalm 16:8)
1. Mideast countries speed up nuclear development projects - Ha'aretz
Several Arab countries in recent months have boosted their nuclear programs, in what experts believe is a response to Iran's aggressive drive to acquire nuclear weapons.
2. Abbas denies West Bank-Gaza route included in land swap plan - Ha'aretz
The office of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday rejected a Haaretz report that Israel had proposed a route between the West Bank and Gaza Strip that would be part of a land swap in a bilateral agreement.
3. Fearing Syrian missile onslaught, IDF boosts Arrow defenses in North - Jerusalem Post
Predicting that Israel's future wars will be characterized by unprecedented missile barrages, the IDF has decided to modify its missile defense doctrine and has changed its deployment of the Arrow missile in northern Israel, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
4. Israel to buy advanced anti-aircraft missiles - Ynet News
The Israeli Air Force will buy advanced US-made Patriot PAC-3 missiles from Lockheed Martin, capable of intercepting aircraft and long-range ballistic missiles, including the type used by Syria.
5. Russia confirms Soviet sorties over Dimona in '67 - Jerusalem Post
The chief spokesman of the Russian Air Force, Col. Aleksandr V. Drobyshevsky, has confirmed in writing for the first time that it was Soviet pilots, in the USSR's most-advanced MiG-25 "Foxbat" aircraft, who flew highly-provocative sorties over Israel's nuclear facility at Dimona in May 1967, just prior to the Six Day War.
6. Iraq, Syria agree to reopen key oil pipeline - Jerusalem Post
Iraqi and Syrian oil ministers agreed on Wednesday to repair and subsequently reopen a key pipeline between their two countries that connects Iraq's oil- rich Kirkuk region and a Syrian port.
Iran in the News
1. Iran on anti-racism committee - Ynet News
Despite its numerous calls for Israel's destruction, and repeated denials of the Holocaust, Iran has been selected by the United Nations for a leading position in a committee that will plan the 2009 UN World Conference against Racism.
2. Iran leaflets threaten Kurds in northern Iraq with 'cleansing' - World Tribune
Iran has demanded that Iraqi Kurds leave their border villages. Kurdish sources said Iran's military has dropped leaflets into Iraqi Kurdish villages that call for their immediate evacuation. The leaflets warned the Kurds of impending Iranian military strikes.
3. Iran has remote-controlled launch pads - Jerusalem Post
Preparing for a possible American or Israeli strike on its nuclear installations, Iran has developed a remote- controlled launch system that can be used to operate dozens of unmanned Shihab ballistic missile launchers in underground bunkers, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
4. Iran develops 900-kg 'smart bomb' - Ynet News
Iran has developed a 2,000-pound (900 kg) "smart bomb", official media quoted a Defense Ministry statement as saying on Wednesday, in the latest announcement from Tehran about progress regarding military hardware.
For all the news coming out of Iran today, we stand on the promises of God:
· And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. (Job 11:18)
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES: THE RACE TO BE FIRST
States have been falling all over themselves to get some of the attention lavished on little Iowa and New Hampshire.
(Sources: AP, New York Times, Washington Post)
Someday in the not-too-distant future, we may spend the month of December shopping for holiday gifts, trimming the tree - and voting in a presidential primary. We will, unless saner minds eventually prevail in the quadrennial marathon that is the Democratic and Republican presidential nominating process.
But, so far, sanity has taken a back seat to the naked, raw ambition of states that want a bigger say in who is nominated. Bigger states have long felt that Iowa and New Hampshire two largely rural, largely white states are not representative of the rest of the country. The intense scrambling has left the primary timetable up in the air.
The latest state to try to muscle its way up front is Michigan, where the State Senate could meet as early as today to start the process of moving its voting, probably to Jan. 15. Florida has already hop-scotched ahead and may be penalized for doing so. South Carolina Republicans leap-frogged ahead of Florida. About 20 other states, including California, New York and Illinois, are set to vote on the same day, Feb. 5. (Arizona just joined them on Tuesday.)
This "super duper" Primary Day could force candidates to make hard decisions about where to spend their time and advertising dollars in what could be a four-week sprint to the nomination. By pushing ahead, the other states are forcing the two early birds to go even earlier to keep their coveted status.
The matter is likely to boil over this weekend, at least for the Democrats, when the states meet with the rules committee of the Democratic National Committee in Washington. The party wants to rein in the scheduling anarchy and punish those violating party rules that bar all but a handful of states from voting before Feb. 5. Florida is the chief delinquent, and Michigan could be another.
The 17 candidates in both parties have collectively spent about $8 million on television advertisements so far this year, with $4.3 million of it in Iowa and $2.2 million in New Hampshire, said Evan Tracey of the Campaign Media Analysis Group at TNS Media Intelligence. The rest has been spent in a smattering of other states.
· Pray for wise structure and godly planning by both parties and all states - that there would be a release from pride, contention and strife between state organizers and legislatures.
· "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matthew 21:22)
[Reported by: Intercessors for America}
