(Jer. 31:18)
Today's Daily Brief
1. U.S. On Track For Victory In Iraq, Bush Says On Fifth Anniversary - CNSNews.com
The U.S. is on track for victory in Iraq, President Bush said on the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion. "The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable," he said. "Five years into this battle, there is an understandable debate over whether the war was worth fighting, whether the fight is worth winning, and whether we can win it," Bush said at the Pentagon. "The answers are clear to me: Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision, and this is a fight America can and must win," he said.
· Dearest Lord, as we see Vice President Cheney and Senator McCain in Baghdad today, we cannot help but see that this war is winnable with Your help. May America remain stalwart in her resolve to set the captives free in Iraq, and win the war against terrorism for Your glory, so that the Gospel may be declared throughout the Middle East and the world. Thank You for giving President Bush the bravery to launch the Iraqi War five years ago today. Please bless him for allowing Iraq to experience liberty. May Freedom Ring!
· With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful, for by You I can run against a troop, by my God, I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. (Psalm 18: 25a, 29 & 30 NKJV)
2. North Korea Told Not To Delay Nuclear Deal - Washington Times
U.S. Democrats, uneasy at the prospect of inheriting a nuclear face-off with North Korea, have urged Pyongyang to strike a deal with the Bush administration rather than delay it, in hopes of a better offer from the next president. Christopher R. Hill, chief U.S. negotiator with North Korea, said yesterday that message was delivered directly to the North Koreans by William Perry, defense secretary in the Clinton administration, during his visit to Pyongyang last month.
To date, North Korea has shut down and almost disabled its main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, but is refusing U.S. demands to disclose all past programs in a declaration required under an October agreement reached at six-nation talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear programs.
· Dear Jesus, pride is a way to death. Asia is full of this hindrance, even in the poverty stricken nations who sorely need help like North Korea. Please remove all demonic and arrogant influences in North Korea so that they may find salvation, live in peace and with a Godly leader. In Your Name we pray. Amen.
· "Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth." (Psalm 73: 6, 8b & 9 NKJV)
3. Pentagon Official: China May Already Be At Cyberwar With U.S. - World Tribune
China's growing cyberwarfare capabilities are an emerging threat already being felt by the U.S., David Sedney, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia said. "There continue to be around the world, not just in the United States, many, many computer intrusions that are sourced back to the Peoples' Republic of China."
And, while the Chinese government or PLA cannot be pinpointed in the data thefts, "the kinds of things that are done are certainly the kinds of things that espionage agencies would do," Sedney said.
· Omniscient Lord, the God who knows all things, we continue to humbly ask You to save and protect America, Israel, and her allies from seen and unseen attacks by enemies, including computer hackers in China. Only You know the security risks we have been exposed to, and the destruction we have been saved from as a nation. We thank You for Your incredible grace given to us. Praise 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." (Psalm 84: 11 NKJV)
4. Right Underrepresented In Press' Diversity - Washington Times
Only 6 percent of the national press corps describe themselves as "conservative" in a population that includes reporters, editors, and producers from major television and radio networks, daily newspapers, news wires and online sources.
· Here is Your Truth, Lord, revealed about the media and their disdain for Your ways. Please cleanse the media and protect us as a nation founded by You. We ask as Your children for protection from their malice, for our lives and reputations. May this be the Easter that these misguided souls will be cleansed and brought to salvation through Your Son, Jesus. In Your Name we pray. Amen.
· Just as Thomas asked Jesus, so may the members of the media realize their need for the Savior. "Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where Your are going, and how can we know the way?' Jesus said to him, "I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14: 5-6 NKJV)
5. Liberals Mobilize $350 Million for 'Aggressive' Election Effort - CNSNews.com
A coalition of liberal organizations announced plans Tuesday to move "the most expensive mobilization in history this election season."
MoveOn.org, Rock the Vote, Acorn, National Council of La Raza, Women's Voices Women Vote Action Fund, and the AFL-CIO announced plans for a $350 million initiative for the 2008 elections at the Take Back America conference in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the liberal Campaign for America's Future. The AFL-CIO is contributing two-thirds of the money for the initiative, said Karen Ackerman, political director at the AFL-CIO, calling it the "most aggressive and ambitious grassroots organization effort in history."
· This story would be scary without You, Lord, leading the way in the selection of the next President of the United States. And, winning the election is only the beginning for a conservative president who will need our prayers for Your protection against an army that would do anything to remove him from office. Please remove their resources and redistribute them to causes that glorify You. America needs Your help and we humbly ask You for Your intervention and its return to You as its Savior. All things belong to You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.
· "Both riches and honour come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all; and in Thine hand is power and might; and in Thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank Thee and praise Thy glorious name." (1Corinthians 29: 12-13)
The Middle East in Focus
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai."
(Esther 7:10)
1. Study: Iran Indoctrinating Children in Islamic Supremacism - NY Sun
A new Freedom House study of Iranian textbooks finds that the Islamic Republic is teaching its children to embrace Islamic supremacism, preparing them to enter a political system that discriminates against women and non-Muslims.
2. 'Nuclear Iran would be disastrous' - Jerusalem Post
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the Knesset on Tuesday that her countrymen's hearts were filled with shame over the Holocaust, and that her government would stand with Israel against any threat - especially a nuclear Iran.
3. Peres, McCain discuss Iranian threat - Ynet News
"Iran is not solely Israel's problem. The combination of terror, nuclear capabilities and irresponsible leadership poses a danger to the entire world," President Shimon Peres told visiting US senator John McCain on Tuesday.
Pray for the Persecuted Church
Prayers for the Persecuted Church
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, "Fear not.."
(Lamentations 3:57)
1. TURKEY: MYSTERIOUS CLERICAL 'ERROR' DELAYS MURDER TRIAL - Compass Direct News
The fourth trial hearing yesterday against the murderers of three Christians in southeast Turkey was postponed for another month after court clerks failed to file a request to replace judges accused of bias. Plaintiff lawyers' official demand to replace the presiding bench of judges had been filed on March 1, but when the Malatya Third Criminal Court convened yesterday it was confirmed that the request still had not been forwarded to the higher court in Diyarbakir, which was designated to rule on it. Plaintiff lawyers had demanded a new set of judges at the previous hearing on February 25, listing repeated instances of bias and partiality that they declared were "obstructing justice" in the high-profile murder case.
2. CHINA: CHRISTIAN MISTREATED IN PRISON FOR 'INSULTING' MUSLIMS - Compass Direct News
Liu Huiwen, a Chinese Christian sentenced to 18 months imprisonment last November for distributing a gospel leaflet to Muslims in Gansu province, is suffering mistreatment in a Muslim-majority prison, local sources told Compass. After a recent prison visit, Liu's wife Miao Hui Lian claimed that he was limping badly and looked very thin. Liu, unable to speak openly, told his wife that the prison was a "very bad place" and that he was being "bullied constantly."
3. ALGERIA: AUTHORITIES CRACK DOWN ON CHURCHES -Compass Direct News
Police ordered two Algerian churches to cease activity last week, the latest in a series of 10 church closures and further court cases against foreign and local Christians. "They are trying to establish a minority, which might give foreign powers a pretext to intervene with Algeria's domestic affairs," Religious Affairs Minister Bu 'Abdallah Ghoulamullah told reporters. Written police orders called on both churches to "cease all activity until [their] situation could be regularized and brought into conformity" with a 2006 religion law governing non-Muslim worship. Passed two years ago, the law forbids attempts to convert Muslims to other religions and bans the production of media intended to "shake the faith of a Muslim."
Obama Speaks on Race
Obama's Brilliant Speech Preys On Victimization Of America
Politics and religion had a head on collision on the campaign trail and Democratic Presidential frontrunner B. Hussein Obama seemed to crawl out of the wreckage with a brilliant and sophisticated speech that assessed the anger of blacks and whites because of the condition of America. Obama adeptly used the blatant racist and anti-American example of his now "former pastor" Jeremiah Wright to point out that Wright's remarks were deplorable but reflected a deeper problem in America of blacks not being able to have jobs, being enslaved by government systems that didn't work, and not being able to pursue the American dream due to poor education and lack of opportunity. Obama said whites were angry over the same issues, but from a different perspective.
Obama denounced the pastor's words but would not denounce the pastor. Obama's premise seemed to be tied to the same type of justification for Palestinian terrorism against Israel-that poverty, the lack of opportunity, oppression, poor education and a host of other social woes-were the reasons behind the violence. The violence must be denounced, but the reasons for the violence must be excused and others must be held accountable for the violence because of the conditions that they institutionalized. And the remedy for the anger and the violence is to have government step in with massive socialist programs that ensure justice.
Obama's speech, brilliant as it was, was based on worn out socialist principles:
· Support the troops, but not the war.
· Deplore what the man said, but not the man.
· Hate among the people is bad, but not the people themselves.
· Separate a man's character from his words and actions.
Excuse the soul of the man and pry it apart from his spirit. Therefore, a man can make racist remarks, hateful gestures toward America, even support terrorists and terrorism, but it is no reflection on the man as a person. He is a victim of society and the government must step in save this poor soul from his own devices.
Jesus Christ believed that a man's words, deeds and character were inextricably tied together. He said in Matthew 12:34, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." He continued in Matthew 12:36 and 37, "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." What do these verses mean in the context of Jeremiah Wright and the man who deplored Wright's hateful remarks and then justified them by saying they are induced by an unjust American society?
Bill Wilson Supreme Court Will Review FCC's Policy on Expletives The U.S. Supreme Court this fall will consider the issue of profanity on the airwaves for the first time in 30 years. The high court on Monday agreed to hear arguments on a Federal Communications Commission policy of punishing so-called "fleeting expletives" -- isolated broadcasts of curse words -- with monetary fines. The FCC asked for a review after a federal appeals court invalidated the policy as "arbitrary and capricious." The four largest television networks - Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC/Disney - sued the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) for the right to air profanity at any time of day. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the networks last year; the FCC appealed the case to the nation's highest court. Penny Nance, special adviser to the FCC on indecency issues, said America is at a precipice on the issue of indecency in broadcasting. "We at the Federal Communication Commission have had the position that even one (expletive) is too many, when children are in the audience," she told Family News in Focus. But, "because of a lower court decision, we basically have been handcuffed in our ability to fine broadcasters. "What is decided here will really have long-term ramifications on the FCC's ability to police the public airwaves and to keep (them) safe for America's children." Legislation stuck in the U.S. Senate would give the government more power to clean up television. The Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act (S. 1780) is awaiting a vote by the full Senate. (Sources: Washington Times; Focus on the Family CitizenLink) · Pray that the Court be granted God's wisdom in deciding this case. Scripture mandates that we protect our children. · "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matthew 18:6) "To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech." (Proverbs 8:13)
Word of Life Ministry
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Supreme Court to Review FCC Obscenity Ruling
"The Commission, Congress and, most importantly, parents understand that protecting our children is our greatest responsibility," FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said in a statement. "We have an obligation, then, to enforce laws restricting indecent language on television and radio when children are in the audience."
