· The Daily Brief
· The Middle East in Focus
· Iran in the News
· Pray for the Persecuted Church
· Dr. James Dobson Named to National Radio Hall of Fame
Greetings!
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
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The Daily Brief Tuesday, July 22, 2008
"For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace." (I Corin. 14:33)
The Daily Brief
1. Paulson Reassures On Banks, Warns Of More Tough Times - AP
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. sought to reassure an anxious public on Sunday that the banking system is sound, while also bracing people for more troubled times ahead. Paulson said he hoped Congress soon would approve his plan to help shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage companies. "I'm very optimistic that we're going to get what we need from Congress here, because Congress understands how important these institutions are," Paulson said.
· Heavenly Father, we ask that You block any legislation that would cause problems in the future for our nation. Let only rules and regulations be enacted that will benefit our nation and are righteous after Your ways! Amen!
· "He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, like the tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining after rain." (2 Samuel 23:3, 4)
2. Blunt Blasts Pelosi For Not Allowing Drilling Vote - The Hill
House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) on Sunday strongly criticized Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for not allowing a vote on a measure that would allow offshore drilling. While acknowledging that Pelosi can prevent such a vote, Blunt said the Democratic leader would have to live with that decision, which he argued "does not make sense to the American people. When we're talking about offshore, we're talking about 50, 100, 200 miles offshore," Blunt said on CNN's 'Late Edition.' "Nobody's going to see that. This is an environmentally safe thing to do."
· Heavenly Father, we pray for our elected officials to put aside their partisan opinions in order to pass legislation concerning issues that need to be addressed and that will benefit our nation. Let citizens complain so they will listen.
· "In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry entered His ears . . . They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support." (2 Samuel 22:7, 19)
3. The Wall Street Journal Praises President's 2003 Tax Cuts - Wall Street Journal
The ranks of U.S. millionaires nearly doubled to 354,000 from 181,000 in a mere three years after the tax cuts. This is precisely what supply-siders predicted would happen . . . The idea that this has been a giveaway to the rich is a figment of the left's imagination. Taxes paid by millionaire households more than doubled to $274 billion in 2006 from $136 billion in 2003. No President has ever plied more money from the rich than George W. Bush did with his 2003 tax cuts. These tax payments from the rich explain the very rapid reduction in the budget deficit to 1.9% of GDP in 2006 from 3.5% in 2003.
· Lord, we pray that credit for the great economy and life-style we have enjoyed be given to President Bush for the wise decisions he made after 9/11. He has been a strong leader. Let the nation recognize the positive things he has done.
· Then the king said, "What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?" And the king's servants who attended him said, "Nothing has been done for him." . . . So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!" (Esther 6:3, 11)
4. Condoleezza Rice To Visit Asia For Six-Party Talks - Agence France-Presse
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice left Washington for travel to the Middle East and Asia late Sunday, as she prepared to meet her North Korean counterpart for the first time on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum. Rice is expected to meet North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun in an informal meeting of the top diplomats of the six countries negotiating Pyongyang's denuclearization program.
· Lord, Your wisdom is above our own wisdom and everything must acknowledge you. We pray that these meetings will be directed by You and that no decision will be considered or made that would jeopardize every nation's securities.
· "There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless, it is the Lord's counsel that will stand." (Proverbs 19:21)
5. Mullen: "Conditions-Based Assessments Are The Way To Go [In Iraq]" - AP
Joint Chiefs Of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen on Sunday said, "A fixed timetable for withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq could jeopardize political and economic progress. He added that the agreement between President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to set a "general time horizon" for bringing more troops home from the war was a sign of "healthy negotiations for a burgeoning democracy." The best way to determine troops levels, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said, is to assess the conditions on the ground and to consult with American commanders.
· Lord, we pray that as these negotiations are taking place, President al-Maliki will not be pressured by those who want a quick withdrawal of our troops. Let all the Iraqis remember our help and remain close, faithful allies with us always.
· "For at that time they came to David day by day to help him, until it was a great army, like the army of God." (1 Chronicles 12:22)
6. Bush Administration to Propose Rules for Oil Shale Leases - Fox News
The Bush administration wants to set the stage before leaving office for developing oil shale, rocky deposits in the western U.S. that could eventually yield 800 billion barrels of oil, according to government estimates.
· Offer praise to the Lord for this new initiative, and continue to ask wisdom for "all in authority" as they work to make America more energy- independent.
· "In everything give thanks . . ." (I Thess. 5:18)
7. T. Boone Pickens Testifies Before Senate Committee - Fox News
Pickens, the Republican Texas oil mogul, testified Tuesday before a Senate panel to lay out his new, self- titled "Pickens Plan" to boost renewable energy sources, get the U.S. transportation sector off oil and cut U.S. use of foreign petroleum.Pickens told the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee that aside from getting away from foreign oil, he's for just about anything, from electric cars - like those advocated by Al Gore - to offshore drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.Recalling a conversation he recently had with Gore, Pickens told the panel: "I said, 'I'm for everything that's American.' ... I only have one enemy, and that's foreign oil. That's what I want to get rid of."
· As above, lift up anyone in the private sector, too,to be granted wisdom in dealing with the current oil crisis.
· "Ask, and ye shall receive . . ." (John 16:24)
8. Court upholds prison porn law - One News Now
A 1996 law that prohibits tax dollars from being used to distribute pornography is being used to argue against the distribution of porn to prison inmates.Under the 1996 Ensign Amendment, federal tax dollars cannot be used to pay a prison employee to deliver porn to inmates, even if the prisoner requested and paid for the material. A federal district court in Denver recently denied a challenge to the law -- and Pat Trueman, special counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund and former chief obscenity prosecutor for the Justice Department, believes that was a good idea.
· Offer praise for this excellent decision by the federal district court in Denver!
· "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." (Prov. 14:34)
9. Hurricane Dolly Takes Aim - The Associated Press
Texans have been told to flee as Dolly, now a Category 1 hurricane, approaches.
· This is the first of what will probably be many prayers we will lift up this year during Hurricane Season 2008. Offer praise for the many times we have seen the LORD turn away storms, in answer to our prayers, and once again lift up this storm before Him for His intervention. Pray, too, for the safety tonight of all who are in the path of Hurricane Dolly.
· They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" (Mark 4:41)
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: "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips." (Psalm 89:34)
1. Sixteen wounded in copycat bulldozer attack in Jerusalem - Jerusalem Post
Sixteen people were wounded, one of them moderately, as a bulldozer driver went on a rampage in central Jerusalem Tuesday afternoon in an apparent attempt to recreate the terror attack in the capital earlier this month. Settler grandpa saves the day - Ynet News Yaakov Asael, a resident of the Susiya settlement in southern Mount Hebron is Tuesday's hero. Asael shot and killed the terrorist who carried out the bulldozer attack in Jerusalem earlier in the day.
2. Israeli chief of staff in Washington for 2nd round of talks on Iran in a month - World Tribune
Israel's strategic dialogue with the United States has resumed with the return visit to Washington by a top military official.
3. 'Israel to free Barguti for Shalit' - Ynet News
Israel has agreed in principle to release Marwan Barguti and a number of prominent Hamas leaders from prison -- diplomatic sources were quoted as saying in Monday's 'Al-Bayan' newspaper, based in the United Arab Emirates.
4. Gordon Brown calls on Israel to 'grasp the chance' of peace with Palestinians - London Telegraph
In the first speech by a British prime minister to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, Mr Brown proclaimed himself a lifelong friend of Israel but said that he would also give his "honest analysis".
Iran in the News
For all the headlines below, we thank God for the promise of His Word: ". . . thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." (Isaiah 54:14)
1. 'I'm fighting 2 wars, don't need a 3rd' - Jerusalem Post
The Pentagon's top military officer Adm. Mike Mullen on Sunday discussed the fallout from a potential attack against Tehran by either the US or Israel. "Right now I'm fighting two wars and I don't need a third one."
2. Gordon Brown to condemn Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - London Telegraph
Gordon Brown will pledge "unbreakable" support to Israel while launching his strongest attack yet on Iran.
3. Activists: 9 Iranians Convicted of Adultery Set to Be Stoned to Death - Fox News
Eight women and one man convicted of adultery are set to be stoned to death in Iran, activists said Sunday.
4. Rice Says Iran Not Serious at Weekend Nuke Talks - ABC News
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accused Iran on Monday of not being serious at weekend talks about its disputed nuclear program despite the presence of a senior U.S. diplomat, and warned it may soon face new sanctions.
5. US, UK, France launch sea exercise for naval blockade on Iran - DEBKAfile
Operational Brimstone, starting Monday, July 21, aimed at giving military teeth to the two-week ultimatum the six world powers gave Iran in Geneva Saturday to accept the suspension of uranium enrichment or face harsh sanctions and isolation. After warning of punitive measures against Iran, Condoleezza Rice met the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt, Jordan and Iraq in Abu Dhabi. First she was briefed by Under Secretary of State William Burns.The penalty of withholding refined oil products from Iran would be exercised by means of a partial international naval blockade of its Gulf ports. Taking part in the 10-day exercise in the Atlantic Ocean are more than a dozen ships, including the US carrier strike group Theodore Roosevelt and expeditionary strike group Iwo Jima; the French submarine Amethyste, and the British HMS Illustrious Carrier Strike Group, as well as a Brazilian frigate.
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: "Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me." (Psalm 32:1)
1. India: State Admits Few Complaints of 'Forced' Conversions - Worthy News
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat state has disclosed that there were only three complaints of alleged "forcible" conversions in the state in the last 10 years, and only two of those concerned Christian conversions.
2. Turkey Authorities "Supported" Murders Of Christians, Trial Observers Claim - Worthy News
There was concern Wednesday, July 16, that Turkish authorities were involved in last year's murder of three evangelical Christians at a Christian publishing house in the city of Malatya.
3. Spike in Attacks against Egyptian Coptic Christians - ICC
The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org has learned that a recent increase in attacks against Egypt's Coptic Christians has prompted various Christian groups to organize demonstrations condemning fanatic Muslims engaging in these attacks and the officials of the Egyptian government who have failed to protect Christians against such attacks.
Dr. James Dobson Named to National Radio Hall of Fame
Dr. James Dobson Named to National Radio Hall of FameDr. Dobson's fans propelled him to victory through online votes
Dr. James Dobson's more than 30 years of broadcasting have been honored with induction to the National Radio Hall of Fame. The 2008 Class was the first selected through national online voting, and the "Focus on the Family" broadcast is the first religious program to receive such an honor. "I've made a living putting thoughts into words throughout my adult life, but it is difficult to express how I feel about this honor," said Dr. James Dobson today at a staff assembly. "I am especially pleased because the wonderful people at Focus on the Family deserve it. Our radio program has not been a solo effort. It has been a symphony performed by more than 10,000 people over the past 32 years. I am indebted to them all."
Focus Daily Radio Show Wins Place in Hall of Fame Dr. Dobson's fans propelled him to victory through online votes Colorado Springs, Colo. -- Dr. James Dobson's more than 30 years of broadcasting have been honored with induction to the National Radio Hall of Fame. The 2008 Class was the first selected through national online voting, and the "Focus on the Family" broadcast is the first religious program to receive such an honor. "I've made a living putting thoughts into words throughout my adult life, but it is difficult to express how I feel about this honor," said Dr. James Dobson today at a staff assembly. "I am especially pleased because the wonderful people at Focus on the Family deserve it.
Our radio program has not been a solo effort. It has been a symphony performed by more than 10,000 people over the past 32 years. I am indebted to them all." "Particularly, I want to thank the Broadcast Team, past and present. They have earned the accolades this honor recognizes. I also want to thank all the friends across the nation who cast their votes for me. I love and appreciate them all." Focus on the Family President and CEO Jim Daly added: "To have 'Focus on the Family' honored in this manner means we've made a difference in families all over the world. That Dr. Dobson's listeners recognized the excellence and relevance of the content of the daily broadcast and voted to give him a much-deserved win shows Dr. Dobson's influence is as strong as ever in the hearts of his fans, as well as in the culture."
As host of the daily broadcast, Dr. Dobson's joins the ranks of radio luminaries such as Orson Wells, Paul Harvey, Gene Autry, Bing Cosby, Kate Smith, Jack Benny, Walter Winchell, Dick Clark and Rush Limbaugh, while "Focus on the Family" is featured alongside shows like "The Shadow" and "Your Hit Parade."
Dr. Dobson didn't anticipate the overwhelming and immediate success of the broadcast. Soon after his program went on the air in 1977, however, Dr. Dobson received an avalanche of mail from people across the country asking him for help and advice. Today, Dr. Dobson's internationally syndicated radio program is heard daily on more than 3,000 radio stations across North America. It also airs in 27 languages in more than 160 countries. (Source: Focus on the Family)
CONGRATULATIONS, DR. DOBSON!!
We praise the Lord that this honor has been bestowed upon you!
"Render to all men their dues. [Pay] . . . honor to whom honor is due." (Rom. 13:7 AMP)
