" He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations - let not the rebellious rise up against him." (Psalm 66:7)
Today's Daily Brief
1. Congressman Says Capitol Police 'Screwed Up' Handling Truck Containing Bomb - CNSNews
The top Republican on the House panel that oversees the security of the Capitol says "there was obviously a screw up" in how U.S. Capitol Police handled the impoundment of a truck later found to contain a crude explosive device. Lawmakers "will hold the people accountable" for the apparent security flub, U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., said in a phone interview with FOX News Radio. Capitol police arrested Michael Gorbey near the Capitol in January and impounded his pickup truck after he was seen carrying a loaded shotgun. But The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the explosive device was stowed undetected in the truck for weeks on government property.
· Lord, we pray for the people who are in charge of taking care of strategic sites in our nation. May they have the mind of the Lord, and the wisdom to know what needs to be done so that we are not caught unawares. We pray for a hedge of protection around these sites, as well as around the borders of our country.
· "He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber." (Psalms 121:3, 4) "Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land." (Job 1:10)
2. UN Passes Islamic Resolution Against Defamation of Religion (Islam) - CNSNews
The U.N. Human Rights Council, which is dominated by Arab and other Muslim countries, adopted a resolution on Thursday urging governments to prohibit the defamation of religions, the Washington Post reported. The resolution is clearly intended as a defense of Islam. · We pray, Lord, that this resolution will be one that protects all religions and it will not be used against Jews or Christians. We pray for the U.N. to be an association of nations that will stand up for what is right.· And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, "If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look and bring judgment." (1 Chronicles 12:17)
3. World Council of Churches backs dialogue with Islam - Reuters
The World Council of Churches, which groups the main non-Catholic Christian churches, urged its members on Wednesday to open a dialogue with Muslim scholars seeking inter-faith cooperation to promote justice and peace. The Geneva-based WCC said it wanted to organize discussions on theology and ethics with signatories of A Common Word, a call for Christian-Muslim dialogue issued by 138 Islamic scholars last October and welcomed by many Christian churches.
· Lord, You said we must not mix with foreign gods, and yet, we are drawing closer to those abominations that You cautioned us against! Keep our hearts pure and our focus powerfully on You. Let us neither go to the right nor left! But follow You in obedience and tenacity! Keep other nations also focused and faithful to You, Lord!
· You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:3) Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. (Joshua 1:7)
4. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey to Become Central Command Chief - AP
One of the Army's most Iraq-savvy generals is taking charge, at least temporarily, of arguably the most important command in the U.S. military, with responsibility for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
· Father God, we lift up General Dempsey in prayer, asking that You grant him the same vision in leadership in this war as those who have gone before him. We ask for a smooth transition for our troops who are on the ground in Iraq, and for their continued protection and safety. We ask, too, for peace to prevail in Iraq, instead of violence, so that our men and women in uniform may return home. And Lord, we ask for the continued assistance and support of other nations as we fight the war on terror both in Iraq and across the globe. In Jesus' Name, amen.
· 'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them . . . I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land." (Leviticus 26:3, 6)
5. Tibetan Protesters Scale Walls of U.N. Compound in Nepal - AP
A group of about 20 protesting Tibetan exiles scaled the walls of the United Nations compound in Katmandu on Friday, while about 100 others protested outside. Nepal has been under criticism for not allowing the Tibetans to peacefully protest a crackdown on Tibetans in neighboring China. Nepal's border with China in the Himalayas is a key route for Tibetans fleeing Chinese rule in the region.
· We pray Lord, that You will bring a new breathe of life and freedom to Tibet. We pray that China will feel the pressure of the other nations to let up on the Tibetan people and give them their freedom. We pray that the leaders of China will see that it is even to their benefit to be good to them, too. Let the gospel spread rapidly in this nation.
· " The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined . . . For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian." (Isaiah 9:2, 4)
6. Superbug MRSA Spreading Fast - The Globe Mail
A staggering 29,000 Canadian hospital patients acquired the superbug MRSA in a one-year period, including an estimated 2,300 whose deaths were partly attributed to the pernicious bacteria, federal figures released today show.
· Heavenly Father, You are our shield and our protection - a mighty fortress which we can run to. Save us from these plagues that are afflicting the people! Give the people a heart to follow You passionately and faithfully! In critical times like we are in now, we need to have a heart of purity and passion toward You!
· And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "It is enough; now restrain your hand" . . . And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel . (2 Samuel: 16, 25)
7. Bush, Putin to discuss Cold War treaties next month - AFPUS
President George W. Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will discuss Cold War arms treaties and missile defence at a meeting in April, Interfax news agency reported Thursday.
· Please pray for safety for President Bush throughout his trip next week, as he departs Sunday for visits to Ukraine,Romania, Croatia and Russia. Pray that our president finds favor in every nation he visits, and that God's perfect will shall be done and accomplished as a result.
· "He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways." (Psalm 91:10)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:"If it had not been LORD who was on our side - now may Israel say - if it had not been LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us." (Psalm 124:1-3)
1. Ben-Eliezer confirms Israel trying to bring Syria back to negotiating table - Ynet News
An Israeli Cabinet minister confirmed on Friday that Israel was trying to bring Syria back to the negotiating table.
2. Barak fears Hamas W. Bank takeover - Jerusalem Post
Defense Minister Ehud Barak has warned the United States that gestures Israel is making to the Palestinians - including approving the transfer to the Palestinian Authority of weapons and armored vehicles, and allowing the deployment of PA policemen in West Bank cities - could ultimately backfire because Hamas could come to power in the West Bank and be better equipped to turn on Israel.
3. Hamas smuggles Iranian blueprints into Strip for Qassam upgrades - Ha'aretz
Hamas militants who recently returned to the Gaza Strip after training in Iran have a detailed plan for upgrading the capabilities of the rockets being developed in the Strip, according to senior Palestinian Authority sources.
4. Arab foreign ministers re-endorse Saudi peace plan - ICEJ News
A meeting of Arab foreign ministers held on Thursday to prepare for this weekend's Arab League summit decided to re-endorse the 2002 Saudi peace initiative, which offers Israel broad diplomatic recognition in exchange for a full withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders and a "just solution" to the Palestinian refugee problem. The proposal was ratified despite heavy lobbying by some Arab elements to rescind the initiative.
5. Jordan, Iraq, Yemen to skip Arab summit - Jerusalem Post
Jordan, Iraq and Yemen announced at the last minute Friday that their top leaders will not attend this weekend's Arab summit in Damascus, highlighting the deep rifts among Arab countries that have undermined the gathering.
6. Israel enraged over new UNHRC appointment - ICEJ News
American Jewish professor compared Israel to Nazis Known for likening Israel to the Nazis, American Jewish law professor Richard A. Falk was appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday to six-year term as the body's primary investigator of Israeli human rights abuses in the "occupied territories."
Prayers for the Persecuted Church
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer." (Psalm 66:19)
1. India: Hindu Extremists Assault Christian Family - Worthy News
Hindu extremists in a village in Madhya Pradesh who have harassed and threatened local Christians beat the grandparents and aunt of a 15-year-old girl last weekend when the Christian family refused to allow the group to rape her.
2. Egypt: Ex-Muslims Blocked from Declaring Conversion - Worthy News
Christian-born converts to Islam in Egypt wishing to return to their former faith have found their way blocked by an appeal before the country's Supreme Constitutional Court.
3. Sri Lanka: Attacks on Bible School Continue - Worthy News
A Provincial Council member brandishing a gun assaulted a security guard at a Bible college in Lunuwila, Puttlam district two weeks after an attack on 10 of the institution's students seriously injured two of them.
A Prayer for our Economy
Wave of Foreclosures Drives Prices Lower, Lures Buyers
(Source: Wall Street Journal)
A glut of foreclosed homes of historic proportions is starting to drive down U.S. home prices faster as lenders put more properties on the market and buyers show signs of interest. The median price dropped 8.2% from a year earlier to $195,900, the biggest drop recorded by the Realtors in the current slump. In some beaten-down markets, the price cuts have been stark. The Detroit Board of Realtors recently found that home sales in the city (excluding suburbs) in the first two months of this year jumped 48% from a year earlier, to 1,540. The average home price there sank 54% to about $22,000.
A Prayer for our economy:
How much longer, Lord, will America suffer due to its indifference to You? Our nation's leadership continues to divide Israel, the Apple of Your Eye. False religions are gaining strongholds in every area of our country, such as Islam in cities like Detroit, Michigan. We ask Lord, for Your divine intervention to give truth and wisdom to our national leadership to read their Bible so that they will know that You curse those who curse You. We ask Lord, that You will show them through Your Word that You will have no other Gods before You. Reveal plainly to them that You cannot bless a nation that does not honor You. Show them that with Your help and their repentance, America's economy and her cities that are reeling from foreclosures can begin to recover and show the love of Your Son, Jesus Christ to those lost without Him. May what looks like a setback to man be a boon for the spread of Your Gospel!
· "When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies." (Numbers 10:9 NKJV)
Truckers Threaten Strike Over Fuel Prices
Truckers 'going broke' and threatening to strikeApril 1st is the target date for the stoppage
(Source: Quad City Times; Davenport, Iowa)
What started as a small, online grassroots effort now appears to have the potential for something bigger. Dan Little, the owner/operator of a livestock hauling company in Carrollton, Mo., estimated Tuesday that at least 1,000 other truckers from across the United States have committed so far to joining him in a strike on April 1.At issue is the rising cost of diesel fuel, which has reached or exceeded $4 per gallon in at least 17 states. But Little does not expect his strike to bring down the per-gallon price of gas, nor does he expect to have any effect on the oil companies. "What I would personally like to see is our federal and state governments, until our economy recovers, suspend federal and state fuel taxes," the 49-year-old said. "The second thing I'd like to see is an oversight committee for truck insurance, which is part of what's taking us down.
Personal Note:
During Easter/Resurrection weekend, my husband and I drove to Ohio for a funeral. On the way, we met a wonderful man of God who, with his family, serves as a chaplain to truckers in Breezewood, PA. Reverend Maxwell spoke quietly about how hard these times are now on the truckers, and that "many of these men have had to simply park their trucks and walk away."
· Please join us in interceding not only for the truckers, but also for all of us who own cars now in our nation. Ask God to make a way where there seemeth to be no way for relief to come at the gas pumps. Praise God! HIS "oil" trumps man's oil -- every time -- and His supply never runs out!
· "With God, all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)
Moslems Buying Influence in Congress
Islamists Buying Anti-American Influence
In Congress
The latest revelation that a former Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) official has been indicted for arranging a trip supportive of Saddam Hussein for three Democratic Congressmen in October 2002 is an indication of just how far and deep the Islamic covert operations have penetrated the United States. This indictment of Muthanna al Hanooti for arranging and paying for a trip by the congressmen to Hussein's Iraq in exchange for some two million barrels of oil is just yet another CAIR or former CAIR official being brought up on terror-related charges. But the indictment speaks volumes about the three congressmen who were not named in the indictment and how Islam has found allies in Congress.
Congressmen Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California were not named in the indictment and are saying that they had no idea that the propaganda trip was funded by Hussein's Iraq Intelligence operation. Irrespective, these congressmen served as mouthpieces for the Hussein propaganda machine while they were in Baghdad prior to the U.S. invasion. McDermott, being interviewd from Baghdad by George Stephanopolis, said he believed that Bush was misleading the American people about Iraq and that Saddam Hussein should be taken at his word.
At the time, commentator George Will remarked "Why Saddam Hussein doesn't pay commercial time for that advertisement for his policy, I do not know." As it turns out, apparently Hussein did pay for it. And these congressmen can claim all day long that they didn't know that Hussein bought and paid for their views to be heard around the world, which they will. Americans may never know the truth from these elected officials. What Americans do know is that Islamic factions in the United States are using money to buy influence and public propaganda from U.S. Congressmen who allow themselves to be used because of their anti- American sympathies.
Just how far and deep CAIR and other Islamic front groups have penetrated the American government is not currently known, but this is just one example of how sympathetic elected officials are used to exploit the citizens who elected them. Americans need to wake up and scrutinize their candidates before they elect them. And they should not be reelected when these evils are revealed. McDermott and others have worked against the nation and Christians in Congress by supporting anti-Christian and pro-abortion, pro- homosexual legislation. And now it is revealed they are mouthpieces paid for by Islam. Proverbs 27:6 says, "The kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Indeed, especially when the enemy is within.
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
URGENT! Zimbabwe Holds Elections Tomorrow!
Urgent Prayer Request for Zimbabwe Elections:
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Issued by: Jericho Walls / Tansformation Africa / Global Day of Prayer / International Prayer Council
Most of us know about the serious situation in Zimbabwe and the suffering of its people. We as Christians around the world need to stand before God's throne to pray for grace and mercy for that nation. It is clear that only a divine intervention can bring change in that nation.
Let us pray with hope and faith when we pray - "It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek him." (Heb.11:6)
Please let us not under estimate the situation in Zimbabwe. There is a very real potential that violence can break out and that will cause much bloodshed.
There is ample evidence from history that God changed nations in answer to prayer. We have seen this in Kenya recently, in South Africa in 1994, then in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Hungary, Sudan and many others.
· Let us pray for every form of corruption and tampering with the votes to be exposed.
· Let us pray for God's peace to reign in the nation from now untill the elections on Sunday and also afterwards.
· Pray that God will fulfil his purposes with that nation.
· Pray that the church in Zimbabwe will take their place before the throne of grace and that God will help them at His right time.
· Pray for economic and social restoration of the whole country.
· Pray for the church to move forward in unity and much wisdom and that they will understand their times and know what to do.
· In 1 Tim.2:1-4 we are taught that we must pray for governments and all in positions of authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and it pleases God our Saviour, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
