1. Romney Gets Win In Michigan - Washington Times
Michigan's native son, Mitt Romney, last night pulled out his first big win of the Republican presidential race, defeating a surging Sen. John McCain in Michigan's primary and reviving his flagging bid to win the party's nomination.
His victory further muddles the Republican race: Each of the first three major nomination contests has produced a different winner, and none has built lasting momentum. Attention is now focused on the crucial South Carolina primary this Saturday and also on the Nevada caucuses held the same day. South Carolina holds its Democratic primary on January 26th, and Florida rounds out the month with its primary on January 29th. Next month is the 20-State "Super Tuesday," February 5th.
· Encourage us Lord to remain faithful in praying for our current and next President of the United States. Many have become weary of the incessant campaign news and there are still nine months more to go before the general election on Tuesday, November 4th! Thanking You in advance for Your selection of our nation's next Commander-In-Chief." Amen.
· "Yes, the Lord will give what is good; and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway." (Psalm 85: 12-13 NKJV)
2. Signals Point To 'Faltering' Economy - Washington Times and International Herald Tribune
Signs that the economy is on shaky ground piled up yesterday as it became apparent that consumers, reacting to the housing mess and gas prices above $3 a gallon, slashed their Christmas spending. Major losses prompted more foreign bailouts of Wall Street titans Citibank and Merrill Lynch. Citibank stunned Wall Street on Tuesday by posting a $10 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2007, the biggest in the bank's 196-year history as the housing market continues to deteriorate and the economy slides toward a possible recession.
· All-Wise God, may You continue to be glorified in this current economic downturn in America. May people learn to rely on You and not on their "usual" way of doing business. May Wall Street itself know that there is only one way to predict the economy, and that is by relying upon You.
· "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20: 7 NKJV)
3. Florida Marriage Amendment In Danger Of Not Making Ballot - Baptist Press
A proposed Florida marriage amendment that just one month ago appeared it was headed to the ballot, now is in jeopardy after a state audit determined the initiative is 22,000 signatures short of the number required.
Officials with Florida4Marriage.org have only two weeks to make up the deficit if the amendment is to appear on the November ballot. Petitions -- which can be downloaded at Florida4Marriage.org -- must be delivered to the organization's Orlando headquarters by Tuesday, January 29th. Petitions should be mailed to: Florida4Marriage.org, 4853 S. Orange Ave., Orlando, FL 32806.
· Heavenly Father, there are so many reasons why this is happening in Florida that those of us who live outside of Florida do not understand. But You, the Omniscient One, understand. We humbly ask You to send Your Holy Spirit to intercede for the needs of this State that is in need of Your Godly leadership. May Your definition of marriage between one man and one woman be saved in Florida for Your glory, and may those who oppose this definition through their lifestyles be brought into submission to Your will and ultimate salvation through Your Son, Jesus Christ.
· "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge." (Hebrews 13: 4 NKJV)
4. Warsaw Ups Ante For U.S. Defense Shield - Washington Times
The United States is headed for tough negotiations with Poland over a planned missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, with Warsaw now demanding that Washington pour hundreds of millions of dollars into improving its defense capabilities.
Recently elected Prime Minister Donald Tusk has raised serious questions about the costs and benefits from the missile system for his country. Mr. Tusk sent his defense minister, Bogdan Klich, to Washington this week to make the new government's case. "We believe that the injection of American funds into modernization of our armed forces would balance the risk to our security linked to the construction of the base," Mr. Klich told the Dziennik Newspaper before leaving Poland.
· Dearest Father, we humbly ask You to lead the negotiations for this Eastern European U.S. Defense Shield to be based in Warsaw, Poland. These talks should have already been concluded, but You knew that the administration would change, thus halting progress on this missile shield. May You lead these discussions and touch the hearts of those involved so that this will truly be a Shield from You.
· "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!" (Psalm 84: 11-12 NKJV)
5. FDA Says Cloned Animals Safe Is Food - AP
Just over a decade after scientists cloned the first animal, the last major barrier to selling meat and milk from clones has fallen: The U.S. government declared this food safe Tuesday. Consumer anxiety about cloning is serious enough that several major food companies, including the big dairy producer Dean Foods Co. and Smithfield Foods Inc., say they aren't planning to sell products from cloned animals.
Still, it will be hard to tell which foods do contain ingredients originating from cloned animals. The Food and Drug Administration ruled that labels won't have to reveal whether the food comes from cloned cows, pigs or goats, or the clones' offspring, because those ingredients are no different than meat or milk from livestock bred the old-fashioned way.
· Gracious Lord, You created livestock to be a safe source of food for humans. Man is now trying to exploit what You made for our consumption to make profit for themselves through the cloning of high quality animals that You gave these superior qualities to! May this inferior copying of Your resources be stopped, and may these people and companies see how these copies are unsafe because they do not naturally come from Your hand.
· "And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1: 25 NKJV)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto You. When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I." (Psalm 32:8)
1. Hamas' al-Zahar vows revenge - Ynet News
For the first time in months Hamas escalated its operations and claimed responsibility for Qassam rocket attacks on Israeli cities Tuesday. However, Tuesday's violence was merely the beginning, said senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Zahar, whose son was killed in an IDF strike Tuesday.
2. IDF kills 19 in Gaza, most Hamas fighters, including leader's son - Israel Insider
Hussam Zahar, son of former Palestinian Authority foreign minister and senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, was one of many in the killed in gunbattles with IDF soldiers in Gaza on Tuesday, the former minister reported. Sixteen other Palestinians were reported dead as IDF troops backed by tanks and helicopters streamed in northern Gaza in an operation to silence rocket fire
3. Sarkozy lands in Gulf, ready to sign nuclear treaties - Jerusalem Post
France will sign a nuclear cooperation accord with the United Arab Emirates during Sarkozy's visit there Tuesday, the French leader told the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat in an interview published Sunday.
Prayers for the Persecuted Church
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name." (Psalm 91:14)
1. Imam of Kirkuk: attacks against Christians are "against Islam" - Asia News
Strong condemnation of the attacks against Christians was launched today from Kirkuk's Mosques. AsiaNews sources in the northern Iraqi city recount that during the traditional Friday prayers Imam's described the episodes which saw two car bombs detonated outside the Chaldean cathedral and Syro-Orthodox Church of Mar Ephrem on January 9th as "contrary to Islam". During Friday prayers, Muslim leaders praised the Churches commitment to dialogue and condemned Wednesday's attacks against Christian targets. The Archdiocese helped to repair the damage done to Muslim families. (Read more..)
2. Kenya: Plight of Kisii Refugees Grim - AllAfrica.com
About 2,000 men, women, and children have been camped at the Kisii Cathedral for more than a week. The cathedral is in Kisii town, in western Kenya, about 380 kilometres from the capital Nairobi. The refugees at the cathedral escaped the violence that has rocked the country since the Electoral Commission of Kenya announced that Mwai Kibaki had won the Dec. 27 presidential elections.
A woman at the cathedral camp mourned: "We shall starve to death at this camp, unless the government comes to our help. We played our role by voting, why are we being punished for a mistake we didn't do? We did not steal votes and provide wrong tallies. We want to go back to our lives, where we were depending on ourselves, taking our children to school, and living in peace." (Read more.)
3. China Expels Children From Christian Orphanage - BosNewsLife
Children and their caretakers spent another Sunday, January 13, in uncertainty after they were expelled from their Christian-run orphanage in China's Hubei Province, as part of a crackdown on Christian activities by local authorities, an official said. In an open letter to Chinese President President Hu Jintao, obtained by BosNewsLife, orphanage leader and senior house church leader Ming Xuan Zhang said security forces raided the building in a Sanhe village near Sanhe City on Christmas Day last month.
He said that after presenting an eviction notice, local officials forced him, other care-takers including his two sons, and the orphans onto the street. (Read more.)
